Note: The Jets didn’t skate on Tuesday although they did hold a media availability before departing for Vegas. In it we learned that Winnipeg bench boss Rick Bowness is “hopeful” that Mark Scheifele could play in game 5 on Thursday night and that they brought four goalies with them as they wait to see how David Rittich does today at practice. Stay tuned for the Playoff Practice Report.
Note II: The Moose were off on Tuesday as they continue to alternate practice with a day of rest. Today they are scheduled to be back on the ice as they prepare for their series with the Admirals which is approaching. Check back for the Playoff Practice Report. If you want to go to the playoff games on Friday (game 1) and Sunday (game) use this discount code to get there for an affordable rate.
Note III: The Ice now know their next opponent as the Blades defeated the Rebels last night in game 7 in Saskatoon. It will be a battle of the top two teams in the East Division for the Eastern Conference Championship. Ice won 4 of 6 during the regular season. Game 1 is Friday in Winnipeg.
Note IV: Jets prospect Dom DiVincentiis with a big game 7 win along with his North Bay Battalion team. He gave up just one goal in the 3-1 win. He made 28 saves and was named 2nd Star of the Game. Next up the Peterborough Petes in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Jets news:
Global News: Vegas holds all the cards to avoid another game in Winnipeg. This feels like the Jets are Bart Simpson in the gif where he slaps the dad who turns the car around and says “that’s it, back to Winnipeg”. The Golden Knights aren’t interested in a return to Manitoba and will be incentivized to avoid a return flight.
The Athletic Winnipeg: Jets face elimination: 3 keys to winning Game 5 and keep series going. (Paywall). Murat with some insight on how the Jets can keep this series alive.
Sportsnet: Hellebuyck preaching positivity as Jets try to dig out of big hole. No surprise that he is blocking out the negativity which is very on brand for the Jets netminder.
Winnipeg Sun: Connor Hellebuyck feels Jets have character to pull off something special. He’s hoping to channel his inner 2014 LA Kings who faced an even stiffer test when they came back from a 3-0 deficit to the Sharks in the first round.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Winnipeg Sun: How the Winnipeg Jets can still win series against Vegas Golden Knights. Ya get 37 to steal a game and get 55/27 back in the lineup. Problems solved.
Winnipeg Sun: What has happened to the whiteout magic for Jets? That record is less than stellar.
Winnipeg Free Press: Jets confident they can flip the script. (Paywall). Confidence will be key going into a must-win game 5.
Winnipeg Free Press: White quite a sight, but city’s NHL playoff tradition kind of a scoreboard blight. (Paywall). Perhaps it’s time for fans to switch to Polar Blue Out. Doesn’t have the same name cache but there is something to be said for the crowd to match the uniform the home team is wearing.
The Athletic Winnipeg: Mark Scheifele’s injury could be the beginning of the end of this Jets core. (Paywall). It is going to be a fascinating summer. I suspect I’ll be saying and writing that quite a bit over the next few months.
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Golden Knights captain warns teammates not to get complacent. It would be easy if you were Vegas to take this next game for granted given the 3-1 series lead and the health issues that the Jets are currently experiencing .
CTV: Blade to Barron’s face makes NHL players cringe, but they say no to extra protection. An interesting article about players reactions to what happened to Morgan Barron last week but also not a surprise that they don’t see it (pun somewhat intended) as a necessity for change.
Jets video:
TSN: Connor can be the catalyst for Jets. The Jets have had some rough injury luck against the Golden Knights and find themselves in a 3-1 series hole. Meghan Chayka joins Tekeyah Singh to discuss how Kyle Connor has been Winnipeg’s best player this playoffs and will need to be the catalyst if they want to rally back against Vegas.
TSN: ‘I’ve been pretty unlucky’: Jets’ Hellebuyck hoping fortunes change in Game 5. In the series against the Golden Knights, Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck says he has had some tough luck with some of the bad bounces and deflections that have beaten him, including some of the pucks that have hit him in the head and face in the last couple of games. Through it all, Hellebuyck remains confident things will turn in Winnipeg’s favour before the series is over.
CBC: The birth of the Winnipeg Whiteout. Rod Palson, the advertising brain behind the Jets playoff tradition, explains how the now-legendary ritual started out in 1987.
