I turned on my TV at 6:30 and the score was 0-6. I turned it off and ate dinner. Turned it back on (oh, but why?) and the score was 0-9. Turned it off for good. Forget the Hanshin Tigers. Nothing can spoil my great mood today.
1st Period
It was a winner-take-all scenario in Music City on Thursday night. Though the Winnipeg Jets were the NHL’s best home team in the regular season, they dropped two of three on home ice against the Nashville Predators, including an embarrassing, uninspired 0-4 loss in Game 6. They needed to win their third game on Nashville ice if they were to keep their playoff run alive.
They struck first on a sharp-angle shot by defenseman Tyler Myers, who squeaked it between the post and Pekka RInne’s skate.
#Game7 on the road. No fear for the @NHLJets. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/YdQnFaLYO4
— NHL (@NHL) May 11, 2018
Just two minutes later, they picked up their second goal on a similar type of play, although Rinne made the initial save before Paul Stastny shoveled the rebound behind his back.
Winner goes on, loser goes home. An extra for the @NHLJets is exactly what they wanted. #Game7 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/7h1r3hqDur
— NHL (@NHL) May 11, 2018
And that would be the end of Rinne’s night. The Preds got one back on the power play when PK Subban let one rip from the point.
Jets 2, Predators 1
2nd Period
The Jets kept the red light guy awake by potting the lone goal of this frame, as Mark Scheifele took a cross-ice pass from Blake Wheeler and tickled the twine.
10 goals in the entire playoffs.
Six of them on the road from this series.What a postseason by @markscheifele55. #Game7 #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/c8UGw0EQ4o
— NHL (@NHL) May 11, 2018
Jets 3, Predators 1
3rd Period
Stastny got another chippy goal as he kept on digging for rebounds, and eventually put one past the goal line.
Then with just under four minutes left, Scheifele found the Predators’ cage empty, and put home the final nail in the extinct beast’s coffin. For the record, Jets’ goalie Connor Hellebuyck stood on his head all night, making 36 saves and allowing just the one goal.
Winnipeg heads to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history as well as the first time in the city’s NHL history (including Winnipeg Jets 1.0). I hope to watch at least 8 more Jets wins before the end of NPB interleague play! That way, when the Tigers get their butts handed to them, I can shift my focus to an exciting team like this!
And the fans in the streets of Winnipeg sing the Canadian version of Rokko Oroshi…
O Canada breaks out at Portage and Main. This is amazing. #NHLJets pic.twitter.com/d6KB94J4cS
— Christian Aumell (@CJOBchristian) May 11, 2018
Final Score: Jets 5, Predators 1
Just in case you need to see the lone bright spot for Hanshin tonight… Taiga Egoshi!
広島 10-1 阪神 2018/5/11 マツダ
江越大賀 第1号ソロホームランhttps://t.co/yKFOuF3Hon#hanshin #江越大賀 #ホームラン pic.twitter.com/vEE6oy0aLT— とらほー速報＠執念 (@rWzmk) May 11, 2018