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JNGD.R2G3 Flight Plan: Home is Where the Wins Are

By Cam Farquharson

May 1, 2018, 12:40 EDT

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The Jets open up their next two home games against the Predators tied 1-1. While, things did not go the way they hoped in game 2, the Jets are still scoring and will look to use their home ice to take a 2-1 lead over the Predators.

Nashville Predators
@
Winnipeg Jets

Round Two – Game Three
Series is Tied at 1-1

May 1, 2018 – Puck drop: 7:00 PM CST
Bell MTS Place – Winnipeg, Manitoba
TV: CBC, MSNBC – Radio: TSN 1290

What did the Jets do wrong in game two?

The Jets lost and let Toby Enstrom take the blame. They also have Matt Hendricks in over a faster player like Marko Dano.

Looking back at the overtime, the Jets were too passive. This allowed the Predators, a very aggressive team to begin with, take the play to the Jets. Hellebuyck looked slightly human this game, which bodes well because his response to bad games is to have very good games.

What did the Predators do right in game two?

They took advantage of defensive miscues by the Jets. They were aggressive, even in overtime. Their top line played like their best line. The Preds used their powerplay to their advantage. What else? They were good in the faceoff dot.

How do the Predators win game three?

Play like they did in game two. If the Predators can keep Hellebuyck under siege from higher danger areas, he will look human again. The Preds would also be wise to exploit the third pair and fourth line of the Jets. If either of these groups gets stuck in the defensive zone, the Jets could be in trouble.

How do the Jets win game three?

The Jets need to play more aggressively to keep up with the Predators. This will be an issue if Matt Hendricks stays in the line up because he has been struggling to keep up with the play. Thankfully, Paul Maurice can use the Jets’ home ice, by taking advantage of the last change to make sure he gets the match up he wants.

Also, Connor Hellebuyck will bounce back. He has shown he can and he will.

What others are saying…

Expect the Predators to continue their aggressive play.

I can’t speak for other coaches, but we don’t say sit back and try to defend our net. Sometimes it happens, and you’ve got to remember that there’s a good team on the other side. They’ve scored a lot of goals, they have a lot of good players and that was their period. They did a good job.

Player ratings courtesy Corsica.Hockey

Winnipeg Jets Lines

LW	C	RW
KYLE CONNOR RATING: 76.5#23 LW	MARK SCHEIFELE RATING: 81.9#6 C	BLAKE WHEELER RATING: 81.4#4 RW
NIKOLAJ EHLERS RATING: 76.8#19 LW	PAUL STASTNY RATING: 75.7#39 C	PATRIK LAINE RATING: 83.8#2 RW
BRANDON TANEV RATING: 70.5#107 LW	ADAM LOWRY RATING: 73.5#68 C	ANDREW COPP RATING: 72.6#62 RW
JACK ROSLOVIC RATING: 72.7#57 LW	BRYAN LITTLE RATING: 73.6#65 C	MATT HENDRICKS RATING: 68.4#135 RW

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
JOSH MORRISSEY RATING: 74.6#27 LD	JACOB TROUBA RATING: 78.4#14 RD
TOBIAS ENSTROM RATING: 72.3#61 LD	DUSTIN BYFUGLIEN RATING: 81.1#6 RD
BEN CHIAROT RATING: 71.6#86 LD	TYLER MYERS RATING: 76.0#23 RD

GOALIES
CONNOR HELLEBUYCK RATING: 75.8#12 G1	STEVE MASON RATING: 71.8#37 G2

Nashville Predators Lines

LW	C	RW
FILIP FORSBERG Rating: 81.6#6 LW	RYAN JOHANSEN Rating: 75.2#46 C	VIKTOR ARVIDSSON Rating: 76.7#22 RW
KEVIN FIALA Rating: 76.0#27 LW	KYLE TURRIS Rating: 74.9#49 C	CRAIG SMITH Rating: 75.7#28 RW
COLTON SISSONS Rating: 73.5#66 LW	NICK BONINO Rating: 73.2#70 C	AUSTIN WATSON Rating: 72.8#64 RW
CALLE JARNKROK Rating: 72.7#58 LW	MIKE FISHER Rating: 71.3#127 C	MIIKKA SALOMAKI Rating: 69.2#128 RW

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
ROMAN JOSI Rating: 81.8#1 LD	RYAN ELLIS Rating: 81.5#3 RD
MATTIAS EKHOLM Rating: 78.5#6 LD	P.K. SUBBAN Rating: 81.2#5 RD
ALEXEI EMELIN Rating: 70.2#123 LD	MATT IRWIN Rating: 69.6#108 RD

GOALIES
PEKKA RINNE Rating: 79.1#5 G1	JUUSE SAROS Rating: 72.2#32 G2

Gameday Predicition

All games in this series are important, but especially the next two home games for the Jets. They need at least one win at home. My prediction is Connor Hellebuyck is going to have a bounce back night and the Jets will win 4-2.