The message from Connor Hellebuyck on Friday was simple and to the point: “We’re here to win a Stanley Cup, we haven’t achieved anything yet.”

So as elated as Jets fans were Thursday night after seeing the Jets dispatch the Predators in seven games, it’s now right back to work in the Western Conference Finals against the Vegas Golden Knights with an opportunity for a chance to play for the Stanley Cup.

Never has the Stanley Cup been so close for Winnipeg, yet still very much far away.

That second round series against Nashville was every bit the grind it was advertised to be, but the Jets got past it relatively unscathed as far as major injuries go – in fact they got back Mathieu Perreault who had missed pretty much all of the first round and most of the second – and in the process, knocked off the defending Western Conference champs who were themselves hungry to gain redemption after missing out on the Cup last season. It shouldn’t be overstated, but still pointed out that winning three games in a very hostile environment such as Nashville – including a game seven – is invaluable experience and there should be zero doubt at this point that this Jets team doesn’t get rattled nor does it panic when faced with less than ideal situations.

What is in question though is their ability to play against teams who try to lock games down with ‘trap’ style hockey as the Preds won three games slowing down the Jets attack and clogging up the neutral zone. That could be a challenge in this series as well as one of Vegas’ greatest strengths is to counter-attack and expose mistakes made from their strong defensive play.

The Winnipeg Jets would be the absolute best story in hockey this season, if not for the expansion Golden Knights. Call them a cast of “castoffs and misfits” if you must, but understand that a lot of these players when they were taken in last summer’s expansion draft had favorable traits that their GM George McPhee and head coach Gerard Gallant saw in them that they have been able to mold into a club that looks like have been playing together over multiple seasons and not just thrown together for the first time in October. Has their run to the West Finals been as difficult as the Jets? Not really as both the Kings and Sharks lacked the kind of depth that Nashville boasted or that Winnipeg currently has, but underestimate Vegas at your own peril.

The media wrote them off after the expansion draft. Fans wrote them off midway through the season when they expected a swoon and regression to more expansion-like play. The Golden Knights keep defying expectations and they’ve done so in a very legitimate way with quick skating, strong work ethics and attention to details within the game that many other clubs overlook.

We’ve already covered how the regular season series broke down between the two teams, and while a 1-1-1 record doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, it’s maybe worth noting that for two of those three games, the Jets looked like they could handle what Vegas will throw at them and the one loss could easily be chalked up to a single period where the Jets didn’t play to their typical level.

One question that may get answered early is if the Jets took away any lessons from their series against Nashville on how to deal with a team that tries to lock games down with ‘trap’ style hockey as the Preds won three games slowing down the Jets attack and clogging up the neutral zone. That could be a challenge in this series as well as one of Vegas’ greatest strengths is to counter-attack and expose mistakes made from their strong defensive play.

And then of course there is Marc- Andre Fleury in goal for the Knights. He’s been all-world in these playoffs so far, but he and the defense in front of him haven’t faced a forward group quite as talented as the Jets boast – something that could be said for all three regular season meetings as the Jets were never as “healthy” in those games as they are right now.

Again, at the risk of underestimating the Golden Knights, it’s tough to look at this match-up on paper and see how it doesn’t favor Winnipeg as a whole. The keys are if Vegas can slow down the Jets and if Fleury can stop everything that does get to him. The Jets will be fired up at home and will ride that momentum to an series opening victory. Jets win 4-1.