Paul Stastny and Mark Scheifele scored twice each as the Winnipeg Jets routed the Nashville Predators 5-1 in Game 7 to book a spot in the NHL Western Conference finals against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Scheifele scored his league-leading 11th goal of the post-season into an empty net and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 21 of his 37 stops in the third period for the Jets, who reached the Conference finals for the first time since the franchise moved from Atlanta after the 2010-2011 NHL season.
“We had to go through a little adversity early in the season and then we hit our stride and have been playing with confidence ever since,” Jets forward Blake Wheeler said. “Our best games in this series were after tough losses. We knew if we came out and had a good start and took the crowd out of it, then we could make a game of it.”
Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY
The Jets next face the red-hot expansion Golden Knights for a spot in the NHL Stanley Cup finals with Game 1 of the best-of-seven series on Sunday.
Wheeler had two assists on Thursday for the Jets, who jumped out to a 2-0 lead early, which resulted in a rare first-period goaltending change for the Predators in front of a crowd of 17,500 at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
Tyler Myers scored eight minutes, 41 seconds into the first and then Stastny scored his first goal just two minutes later, which chased the Predators’ All-Star Pekka Rinne from the net.
Both goals were scored while the Jets players were standing partly below the goal line.
Rinne, who finished with just five saves on seven shots, was replaced by backup and fellow Finland native Juuse Saros.
“Two terrible goals. It felt like the puck was just finding a way [past me], but there are no excuses,” Rinne said. “It is a huge disappointment.”
Scheifele also had one assist for a three-point night for the Jets, who were playing in their first Game 7 since the move from Atlanta. Stastny has been a shining light for the Jets since being acquired from the St Louis Blues at the trading deadline.
He has six goals in the playoffs and five in the last eight games.
“There are very few teams I thought about waiving my no-trade clause for, but Winnipeg was one of them,” Stastny said, adding that he has gotten better at dealing with the pressure of playing in a winner-take-all showdown.
“I just tried to be calm,” he said. “I played in a few Game 7s early in my career and I was too nervous. I put too much pressure on myself.”
“It is a lot of stress to play in a Game 7,” he added. “You’ve got to enjoy it.”
P.K. Subban scored the only goal for the Predators, who finished a disappointing 1-3 at home in the series.
“I don’t think that is a better team than us over there, but it didn’t go our way,” Subban said.
Wheeler, of the US, said he is looking forward to continuing their playoff run in Winnipeg, which has some of the most loyal and loudest fans in the league.
“I haven’t seen an empty seat in our building in seven years and we have only made the playoffs twice,” Wheeler said.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS