Having accomplished the mission of take a game on the road in Nashville, the Winnipeg Jets now set their sights on game two where they hope to play at least a little bit better than they did in the first game and take a commanding 2-0 lead heading back home.

They won. Ultimately that’s what matters. How they won was less than ideal in giving up 48 shots, but there were positives for the Jets to build off of. For one, a lot of those shots came from distance as the Jets did a decent job preventing high danger scoring chances and really limiting rebounds and second chance opportunities. On the offensive end, the Jets capitalized on the handful of opportunities they got. Two of their goals were scored within the five foot area around the Preds goal and the third goal was a snipe from Scheifele in the slot area which is exactly where the Jets want to tee off on Pekka Rinne.

They didn’t score. They pretty much did everything else right, and the Predators aren’t wrong when they say that if they continue to play like they did in game one, they should have a great chance to win those games each time, but that thought process can conclude one of two ways… Either you played exactly the way you wanted and should be ok for game two which implies that you just need better luck, or you took your best shot against a team that wasn’t at it’s best and it wasn’t enough. The Preds had lots of shots, but outside of the post hit in the second period while they were on the power play they didn’t really create anything that Connor Hellebuyck and Jets defense couldn’t ultimately handle.

They do need to find a way to get to rebounds, scrambles around the net and in general make life a lot tougher for Hellebuyck in goal. Easier said than done as the Jets have done well to limit such chaos in front of their goal. Defensively in their own end, they can’t give up the middle of the ice as that’s where the Jets will absolutely destroy a team with their offense. If Nashville watched game film of how the Wild defended the Jets attack in the first round, they certainly didn’t follow that game plan. Limit the jets to shots from the perimeter and try and give Rinne a clear lane to see the shots come in.

Where the Jets need to be better for game two is in their zone exits out of their own end and entries into the Predators side of the ice. Turnovers were an issue for this team and going forward they will need to get better there. They are also going to have to do a lot better in their 50-50 puck battles as well as face-offs. Winning in both of these areas will certainly go a long way in helping the Jets cut down the amount of shots the Predators will get in a game.

Oh and not that it’s completely in their control, but drawing a penalty or two would be helpful as well. The Jets didn’t have a single power play in game one as the Predators somehow played the cleanest game ever despite all the little hooks and holds and pick plays you may have think you saw.

The Predators aren’t worried and neither is Alex Daugherty of On The Forecheck…

The Preds for all their bravado, confidence and ‘don’t worry, we got this’ talk after game one, likely realize that game two is absolutely critical for them to win. Somehow, someway they do and even up the series. Predators win 4-1.