On the typical checklist ahead of any game you have the usual.
Outshoot the opposition. Check
Limit their quality chances. Check
Limit their total shots on goal. Check
Outplay your opponent. Check
Even after all those check marks on the To Do list, the Nashville Predators found a way to lose Game 1 with the Winnipeg Jets, 4-1.
The Predators outshot the Jets 48-19 and buzzed the net and seemingly had the game in hand.
But Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck made 47 saves to help the Jets overcome all that, including just three shots on goal in the third period.
“I thought it was good,” Hellebuyck said. “I thought the guys in front of me were allowing me to see shots. They were blocking ones they needed to block and our details were right. It’s just a product of how hard we’ve been working.”
Despite taking just four shots on goal in the first period, the Jets took the lead on a goal from Brandon Tanev.
“Yeah, I thought we played well,” Nashville’s Roman Josi said. “I thought we started well. We had a good first period and kind of followed it up. Like I said, we had a lot of shots, a lot of zone time. Now pucks have just got to go in.”
Paul Stastny and Mark Scheifele scored in the middle frame when the Jets finally found their shooting lanes and took 12 shots.
“Opportunistic, for sure,” Stastny said. “When you get your chances, you’ve got to score. We didn’t get any power plays. Sometimes, when you get power plays, you feel the puck and you get more chances. When you don’t, we had different lines kind of step up and make plays.
“But our goals were more simple plays. When we didn’t make the simple plays and were trying to do too much, trying to feather on 2-on-1s or 3-on-2s or over passing a little bit, then we got in trouble. If you look at the ways we scored, we just went to the net and from there, created everything.”
Kevin Fiala scored the lone Preds goal.
Scheifele added an empty net goal late to seal it.
“Most of what was at our net was a heavy scrum, lots of plays within two or three feet of the net, which we’d like to clean up,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice said. “But there certainly weren’t a lot of odd-man rushes or things like that of a real high-risk nature. We weren’t at our best, I’ll give you that. We can play better, and I think we will as this series goes on. But we pay our goaltender, too.”
Pekka Rinne made 13 saves for Nashville through two periods of play.
“We’re an upbeat group in here,” Nashville’s P.K. Subban said. “If I’m being honest, that’s the best game we’ve played probably of the playoffs and maybe one of our best of the year. The bounces didn’t go our way. That’s one that we’re OK (with). We’ll all sleep well tonight and we’ll be ready to go back at it on Sunday.”
After Rinne was given the hook in the second intermission, Juuse Saros iced the third period and made two saves on three shots.
“I think you can hang your hat on that sometimes in the regular season when you’re talking about a process and a long haul and a big picture. But right now, if you give me two choices on where to be — our game or their win — I’d take the win. It’s about winning hockey games right now. We’ll look at it and try to get better,” Predators head coach Peter Laviolette said after the game.
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