WINNIPEG Darian Thompson Jersey , Manitoba — With a three-goal first period lead, there’s no doubt many members of the Nashville Predators were convinced it was just a matter of 40 minutes until they reclaimed home-ice advantage in their second-round playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets.
But then the unfathomable happened. And now, instead of preparing for Game 4 on Thursday with a 2-1 series lead, the Predators trail by that same margin and are in danger of facing elimination when they return home for Game 5 on Saturday.
After absolutely dominating the Jets in every facet of the game for the first 20 minutes, the Predators poked the bear with the pointiest of sticks and turned a three-goal cushion into a three-goal deficit.
Center Austin Watson caught Jets captain Blake Wheeler with a hit to the head early in the second period, knocking his helmet off, causing normally mild-mannered Mark Scheifele to wrestle him to the ground, negating what would have been a Winnipeg power play.
From that point on, the Jets were a different team, finishing hits, outskating and outshooting the Predators and recapturing the most elusive of intangibles — momentum.
Winnipeg center Paul Stastny got things going less than three minutes into the second period when defenseman Jacob Trouba’s shot from the point hit his skate and deflected past Pekka Rinne and the comeback was on. Within three more minutes, both Dustin Byfuglien and Trouba had bulged the twine behind arguably the NHL’s best goalie this season and Bell MTS Place, which just a few minutes earlier had resembled a morgue, had been transformed into a madhouse.
When Byfuglien put the Jets ahead 4-3 with just 45 seconds remaining in the period Armani Watts Jersey , it was so loud that fans couldn’t hear their own voices inside their own heads. Even though Nashville tied things at 4-4 in the third, the Jets had the ice tilted in their favor and Wheeler scored two goals in the third, including the game-winner.
“I was mad at (Scheifele) at first because I thought we had a power play,” Wheeler told a media scrum. “It’s one of those things that you hate to see (Scheifele) go to the box with anyone. I’d rather have him on the ice. I’m okay, I can take that (hit). But I would do the same for him. That’s what teammates do for each other.”
Byfuglien, in addition to his usual physical dominance, has also been making an impact on the scoresheet with 10 points to lead all defensemen. In fact, he has as many goals — three — as the entire Predators’ defense this postseason. Nashville led the NHL in goals (56) and points (206) from their rear-guards during the regular season.
Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm acknowledged that Byfuglien, who weighs 265 pounds, has been a dominant force.
“In today’s game, it’s all about speed and it’s all about moving your feet,” he told The Tennessean. “He can still do that being a large human being, so it’s impressive, for sure.”
Jets forward Mathieu Perreault Jake Matthews Jersey , who has been out since the first round of the playoffs but has been skating in a full-contact jersey for a couple of days, has been cleared to play and is a possibility for Thursday.
The Minnesota Wild made sure the bad news didn’t defeat them.
Their season-ending road trip sure feels a little lighter now, with a spot in the playoffs secure.
Zach Parise scored twice and Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves to blank his original team, pushing the Wild past the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 on Monday night.
”I hope it makes them feel good about themselves,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. ”I thought our defense was good.”
With 98 points, matching the fourth-most in franchise history, the Wild did their part. Then Los Angeles chipped in with a victory about 2 1/2 hours later over Colorado that took the pressure off Minnesota’s last three games, at Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose. The Wild are nearly locked into third place in the Central Division and a first-round matchup with Winnipeg.
”I don’t know how all this math works out,” Boudreau said, before leaving the arena to watch the conclusion of the Avalanche-Kings game at home. ”I just wake up in the morning and hope to see an `X’ by the name.”
Playing for the first time in nearly three years without stalwart defenseman Ryan Suter, the Wild wrapped up their home schedule with a staggering 21-3 shots advantage in the third period. Joel Eriksson Ek added an empty-net goal as the Wild finished 27-6-8 at Xcel Energy Center, the second-best home record in the league.
With rookies Nick Seeler and Carson Soucy, in his NHL debut no less Bradley McDougald Jersey , playing key roles on the blue line, the Wild put together a postseason-caliber performance.
”You need different people to step up and do important things, and that’s going to be the case for us,” Dubnyk said. ”That was a good look.”
Cam Talbot made 37 saves for the Oilers, who lost their fifth straight game and ensured a sub-80-point finish for the eighth time in the last nine years.
”The finish line is non-rewarding. You fall behind, you feel like you don’t get a break, you miss a net or something like that, it takes a little bit more out of you,” coach Todd McLellan said. ”We should be more resilient. We’re not right now.”
Parise has been a big part of the push. The Wild are 24-9-7 with him in the lineup, after he missed the first 39 games of the season recovering from back surgery. Playing next to Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund has given him a clear boost.
”As a group, we’re meshing really well together,” Parise said.
The Wild scored the first goal for the first time in seven games, when Parise snagged a bouncing puck at his own blue line that Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson was struggling to control with his skates and broke loose on an unabated path to the net. He snapped a shot though Talbot’s pads just 3:33 into the contest.
Dubnyk then went to work on his fifth shutout of the season, making some difficult saves Emmanuel Lamur Jersey , including a denial of NHL points leader Connor McDavid’s attempt with his right leg.
Parise provided some padding when he swooped into position to knock in a rebound of Jonas Brodin’s attempt before the midpoint of the second period.
Making the 400th start of his NHL career against the club that drafted him in the first round in 2004, Dubnyk recorded his 133rd win for the Wild since they acquired him in a trade on Jan. 14, 2015. No goalie in the league has played in more games (230) or pitched more shutouts (20) since then.
Edmonton won the first two meetings with Minnesota this season, with McDavid registering two goals and two assists, but after the breakthrough in 2016-17 the Oilers have tumbled back down the Western Conference standings. They’re 17-23-4 since the Christmas break.
Talbot was pulled at Calgary on Saturday night after only 11 1/2 minutes, after allowing three goals on seven shots, but McLellan stuck with him and was rewarded with his highest save total in nine appearances since he stopped 40 shots at Florida on March 17.
”We definitely had opportunities to make this a good road trip,” said left wing Milan Lucic, ”but we didn’t do it in Vancouver when we had a real good start the way that we did. We didn’t do it in Calgary and once again here.”
NOTES: Parise has at least one point in seven straight games and 12 goals over his last 19 games, the third-most in the league since March 1. … Oilers defensemen Andrej Sekera and Yohann Auvitu were each injured in the second period and didn’t return. … With Suter’s absence, center Eric Staal became the Wild’s new ironman by playing in his 161st consecutive contest. He has not missed a game since joining the team prior to last season.
UP NEXT
Oilers: Host Vegas on Thursday.
Wild: Play at Anaheim on Wednesday.
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