During the regular season, many around the hockey community thought that a matchup between the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators would likely determine the winner of the NHL’s Western Conference. Unfortunately, due to the current playoff format, those two teams have been forced to face off against each other in the second round, as opposed to the Western Conference finals.
Nonetheless, after two games, the series has lived up to the hype. With the series tied at one game apiece, the action is about to head back to Winnipeg.
“The game tonight looked the way we thought the series would look,” Jets coach Paul Maurice told the media following game two.
In the first game of the second round, Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck stole the show, stopping 47 of the 48 shots he faced and only had his shutout streak of 163 minutes snapped in the third period. Game two was a different story, with a different vibe in the building. Knowing they were lucky to have come out on top in game one, the Jets knew they would face an uphill climb in game two.
The game surely did not start the way the Jets would have liked. At just 37 seconds into the opening frame, Predators top-line centre Ryan Johansen flew one past the glove side of Hellebuyck to give the Preds the early advantage.
Though the Jets may have lost the overall game, it was the way they reacted in situations like this one that was the real takeaway.
As a young team with little to no playoff experience, and playing in one of the loudest buildings in the NHL, things could have gone south very quickly for the Jets. Yet, as we’ve seen time and time again this season, the Jets pushed their way back into the game, and for much of the time after the goal controlled the pace of play. It is this kind of poise, perseverance, and ability to play at such a high pace that has become a hallmark of Jets hockey.
“You know, it’s a sucky way to lose, but I thought we played a better game tonight than we did in game one,” said Mark Scheifele, who leads the Jets in playoff goals this year, with eight through the team’s first seven games. None, however, were bigger than the goal he scored with 1:05 to go in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime.
The game would prove to be the longest in Jets 2.0 franchise history, lasting a total of 85 minutes and 37 seconds. And though they did lose, the Jets were nothing but positive in the locker room following the game.
“You come into a series, starting on the road, you want to get a win,” said team captain Black Wheeler. “We like the spot we’re in right now.”
And why shouldn’t they? After finishing twentieth place in the league last season, few could have predicted the Jets going toe to toe with the 2018 President’s Trophy winners the way they have. The Jets outshot the Preds 50–41, and for the most part looked like the better team on the ice through overtime.
Heading back to Bell MTS Place tied at one is a huge step in the right direction for the young franchise, regardless of the final outcome of the series—a step that has very much relied on the foundations of three things: poise, pace, and perseverance.
And it all begins at the top, with management. Even when times were tough, and as fans grew more and more upset with the fact that the team had only played four playoff games in its first six years since returning to Winnipeg, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff had the poise and perseverance to stick to the plan he had laid out when he first took the position: draft and develop. Now it’s paying dividends for a franchise that could possibly take it all this spring and bring a very deserving city its first-ever Stanley Cup.
If there was any thought that the Jets were still an underrated team among those in NHL circles, there shouldn’t be anymore. Enjoy every second of it, Jets fans. You may very well be looking at the league’s next great dynasty.
