Note: The Jets pulled off something we hadn’t seen in 31 years as they became the first NHL team in the city to advance to the 2nd round since the Jets 1.0 beat the Flames in 1987. Last night the Jets scored four in the 1st and didn’t look back on their way to a 5-0 win over the Wild to take the series 4-1. Importantly the Jets are likely to have a number of days between this game and their next series to heal up. Today the Jets are off but they will be back on the ice tomorrow to practice. If you are starving for Jets content go check our @illegalcurve instagram feed.
Note II: A historic day for the Manitoba Moose in their third season since relocating the franchise from St. John’s and re-adopting the old team moniker. Today the team will play their first playoff game since the IceCaps were eliminated in the Calder Cup Final back in 2013-14 and it will be the first AHL playoff game in Winnipeg since the Moose were eliminated in the seventh game (triple OT) of the 2nd round of the playoffs in 2010-11 by the Hamilton Bulldogs. Check out our Moose playoff preview in advance of today’s 2 pm puck drop to kick off game 1 in their best of 5 series against the Griffins.
Note III: We have three hours of hockey talk for you this morning as we cover the Winnipeg Jets, Manitoba Moose and NHL playoffs on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show on TSN 1290 Winnipeg. Show starts at 9 am and you can tune in here.
Jets news:
Winnipeg Sun: Top-10 moments from the Jets first-ever playoff series win. Ted looks back at the Jets 1st round.
Winnipeg Sun: Jets Little finally on the right side. He is one of those guys that you forget hasn’t had a lot of team success after he dealt with bad teams in Atlanta and here in Winnipeg in the first few seasons.
Winnipeg Sun: Jets fans finally get to celebrate, 31 years after last. The last time the Jets won a playoff series was the first year the loonie came out, MTV played videos and an actor was President of the United States. Fans were so excited they rushed Portage & Main which ended up getting closed down.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence
Winnipeg Free Press: Jets pound Wild 5-0, win first playoff series since 1987. (Paywall). Many Jets fans of the 2.0 squad may not have been born when the last Winnipeg based NHL team punched their ticket to the 2nd round.
Winnipeg Free Press: Hendricks pumped to get playoff action. (Paywall). He hadn’t played since March 12th and told us after the game that it had been five years since his last playoff game (that he played) so it must have been nice to get the call that he was back in the lineup.
Winnipeg Free Press: We’ve got hope and heck of a team heading into second round. (Paywall). And perhaps most important of all they’ve got some time to heal up before the next round begins.
Minneapolis Star Tribune: Wild bows out of NHL playoffs with 5-0 loss to Winnipeg. Read about a view of the game from the perspective of a writer that covers the Jets opposition.
CBC: Scheifele conjures memories of Hawerchuk as Jets send Winnipeg into frenzy. Considering he tied his idol for most goals in a series by a Winnipeg based NHL team it is easy to see the parallel.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence
CBC: Goal onslaught sends Winnipeg Jets into next round, fans into jubilation. We had barely taken out seats in the pressbox and it felt like the game was over. Once the first period was over so was the game.
CBC: Whiteout street party organizers consider expansion as Jets playoff run continues. Did you see the images? Honestly as a Winnipegger I absolutely loved watching 15,000 folks celebrating together. It was incredible and their energy could be felt all the way inside Bell MTS Place.
Sportsnet: Jets fans ready for deep playoff run after Wild blowout. Fans believe. There is no question about it. They see what this team has at its disposal and they look around at the rest of the NHL and see the possibilities.
Sportsnet: After years of disappointment, Jets’ Little enjoys playoff success. While we often reference all the young players without a lot of playoff experience that also extends to a numbers of veterans who hadn’t won a game let alone a series.
TSN: Jets crush Wild to pick up first series win in 31 years. The Jets caught some breaks and with the Nashville/Colorado series going at least another game they will have time to rest up and get healthy after they demolished Minnesota in five games.
The Athletic: Jets relish first-round victory, but their eye is on a bigger prize. (Paywall). As dictated by their captain this team just has a single minded focus on winning the next game.
Jets video:
TSN: Hellebuyck, depth propel Jets into the second round. For the first time in 31 years fans in Winnipeg are celebrating a playoff series win. Sara Orlesky, Darren Dreger and Frank Seravalli talk about the journey the Jets took to get back to the second round, Connor Hellebuyck delivering and the impressive amount of depth Winnipeg has.
TSN: Jets took the Wild out of the game right away, then steamrolled them. Hockey analyst Dave Poulin talks about the incredible atmosphere in Winnipeg and how it propeled the Jets to the second round.
TSN: Experience matters, but just to a point. Matt Hendricks joins Darren Dreger to explain how the depth of the Jets played a crucial role in the team’s first playoff series win in franchise history, and how both the veterans and young players alike play cohesively with one goal in mind.
TSN: By the numbers – Jets off to the 2nd round. SportsCentre dives deep into the numbers behind the Winnipeg Jets’ impressive five-game series win over the Minnesota Wild.
