Scott Taylor's Blog, page 81

Ducks Sweep Jets, Franchise Has Yet to Win a Playoff Game

In the end, the Winnipeg Jets simply weren’t good enough. And because of that, the Atlanta/Winnipeg NHL franchise still hasn’t won a Stanley Cup playoff game.

On Wednesday night at MTS Centre, Ryan Kesler scored two insurance goals in the third period and that’s all the Anaheim Ducks needed as they beat the Jets 5-2 to sweep the best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final series.

Andrew Cogliano makes it 2-1 Ducks (Photo by jeff Miller)

“There will be time to talk about the good things from this season, but it’s not time yet,” said a very disappointed Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “It’s not foremost in your mind right now.

“(The difference in the series) was quickness on the puck. You can deal with speed and we dealt with their speed, but they (the Ducks) were better at it. They were just more consistent on the puck.”

It was the first time in the series that a team leading after two periods won a game. That’s probably because the Jets were not the team leading after two periods this time.

As another capacity crowd cheered its collective lungs out, it was obvious by the midway point of the third period that the Jets had very little left in the tank. After Kesler scored at 6:41 of the third to make it 3-1, the Ducks started trapping in the neutral zone and just kept pounding the puck back into the Winnipeg zone.

Frederik Andersen was just too good (Photo by jeff Miller)

To be fair, the Jets had a couple of chances in the first half of the third period, but Anaheim netminder Frederik Andersen was just too good.

Then, Drew Stafford tipped in a point shot from Dustin Byfuglien at 10:27 to make it 3-2 and suddenly it was Game On! During a TV stoppage with eight minutes to play, the capacity crowd at the MTS Centre kept up the Go! Jets! Go! chant for four solid minutes.

“You aren’t going to get that crowd during a regular season game, but we get it more than anyone else,” said Maurice. “You talk to people on the street and they did appreciate the (Jets) effort. There was an appreciation there and the fans let us know it. It was special. The players appreciated it. I certainly appreciated it at the end of the game. I thought it was great. It was great.”

It was great, but it wasn’t enough. With five minutes to go, the Jets missed a glorious opportunity and the Ducks came back on a two-on-one. Jacob Silfverberg fed a perfect pass to Kesler and he made no mistake. Kesler, a player once loved by Manitoba Moose fans, was now a hated man in a Ducks uniform.

Oh yes, and with Kesler’s second goal, suddenly, MTS Centre was quiet again.

This series was intense (Photo by Jeff Miller)

Sami Vatanen scored an empty net goal in the final minute to make it 5-2 as the Ducks outshot the Jets 35-27 and outchanced them 13-7. At the final buzzer, the crowd rose to its feet and cheered the home team relentlessly. Obviously, Winnipeg likes the Stanley Cup playoffs and would very much like to get accustomed to hockey in late April

All in all, however, the Ducks owned this one.

In the first period, both teams came out with plenty of jump and it was pretty much a saw-off for the first 16 minutes. Both teams had solid forechecks and they were pretty much even in terms of territorial control.

Then at 16:07, the Ducks Andrew Cogliano took a tripping penalty and at 16:26 the Jets converted. Mathieu Perreault laid a perfect pass onto the stick of Bryan Little in the slot. Little took the puck, made two quick moves to get the biscuit on his forehand and then drilled a shot under the bar, over the glove of Frederik Andersen. It was a goal-scorers’ goal and it gave the Jets a 1-0 lead.

The crowd loved it, but the lead would be short-lived.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Nice jersey selection (Photo by Jeff Miller)

A minute and a half later, the Ducks’ Emerson Etem took a breakout pass from Sami Vatanen inside his own blueline and skated through two zones, deked Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba out of his shorts and flipped a backhand over the outstretched glove of Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec. It was a highlight-reel tally and it was typical of the entire series: Just when the Jets got the upper hand, the Ducks came right back and scored.

Corey Perry drew an assist on the Etem goal. It was his sixth point of the series (three goals and three assists).

The second period was a wild one. The Jets came out with plenty of jump and through the first eight minutes of the period, outshot Anaheim 7-0. However, after the Jets did nothing on a power play midway through the period, Anaheim took over. At 12:55 Perry picked up his seventh point of the series by laying a perfect pass onto the stick of Andrew Cogliano who ripped a shot past Pavelec to give the Ducks a 2-1. Over the final 12 minutes of the period, and despite two Jets power-plays, the Ducks outshot Winnipeg 12-2.

And, for the fist time in the series, the Ducks took a lead (2-1) into the third period.

In the end, the Ducks scored nine third-period goals and one overtime goal in the series. The Jets played solid hockey for 50 minutes most nights, but overall, the Ducks dominated the third period and swept the series.

Captain Andrew Ladd played hurt. (Photo by Jeff Miller).

Maurice let the media know that captain Andrew Ladd played injured for the final two months of the season. In fact, Maurice said that if Ladd had decided to get the injury handled surgically two months ago, nobody in the Jets room would have questioned it.

“We’re a whole hell of a lot better now than we were at this point last year,” said Maurice. “And we’ll be better next year. We’re not set. Next year we’ll come back and do this whole process over again.”

There is no “next game” at MTS Centre this season. Tomorrow, the Jets will begin clearing out their lockers. It’s been a great winter. The Goldeyes season is right around the corner.

Posted by: Scott Taylor for RiverCitySports.com

Jets Lose Third Straight Heartbreaker

Monday night, the MTS Centre was the loudest place in Canada at 5:11 of overtime. At 5:12, you could hear a pin drop.

Rickard Rakell tipped home a shot from defenseman Francois Beauchemin — after Andrew Cogliano won three battles behind the Jets net with Mark Stuart and Jacob Trouba — and the Anaheim Ducks had a 5-4 OT victory and grabbed a commanding 3-0 lead in this Western Conference quarter-final.

This says it all (Photo by Jeff Miller)

“This feels so good,” Rakell said after the game. “We were up and down and we kept coming back. I’m so proud of these guys. It was a great place to play. I think we kind of used the crowd to our advantage. It was really great. What a great atmosphere out there.”

Jets fans had waited 19 years, more than 6,000 days, to watch a playoff game and while they were obviously disappointed with the outcome, it didn’t appear that they were disappointed with the game itself. The Jets had so many chances to win, but just couldn’t convert when it mattered most. The Ducks, meanwhile, kept coming back from one-goal deficits, exactly the way they’ve played in every game of this series.

There were very few times when the din of the MTS Centre was interrupted. Jets fans, clad in white were loud and proud, but they couldn’t coax their team past the No. 1-seed in the West, because for the third straight game, the Jets led by a goal after two periods and couldn’t hold the lead.

Of course, to the delight of many in attendance, this was a rough and tumble affair. The Jets outhit the Ducks 61-44. That’s right, there were more than 100 hits in the game, something that has happened only rarely since the league started keeping that stat. In fact, a 60-hit night in the regular season is considered a hard-hitting game.

Michael Frolik celebrates Tyler Myers’ goal (Photo by Jeff Miller).

Compared to the Minnesota-St. Louis game on Monday where there were 54 hits or the Rangers-Penguins game where there were 80- hits, the Jets-Ducks affair was like a rugby match. Even the Vancouver-Calgary game on Sunday, a game that was promoted by Sportsnet by using highlights(?) from the line brawl on Friday night, generated only 51 hits. To say the Jets and Ducks were aggressive might be understating the obvious.

Still, it was a very disappointed Jets head coach Paul Maurice who addressed the media after the game.

“I thought we were much better early in the game coming off our last game,” said Maurice. “We got a little opening in the second period coming off our power play. In the third period, we had about a four minute stretch where we squeezed the sticks a little too hard, but for the most part we played pretty well. We had plenty of chances.

“The energy in the building was there. It gave us good legs. We had good jump early. In the third period, I thought we handled it pretty darn well. That was the least aggressive they’ve been in the third period in the three games we’ve played. We’ve had leads in all three games, so it’s there.”

The Jets opened the scoring at 9:38 of the first period when Adam Lowry laid a perfect back pass onto the stick of Lee Stempniak who whacked the puck into the back of the net behind Frederik Andersen.

Wheeler beats Andersen (photo by Jeff Miller).

But Anaheim answered with a late goal in the first as Cam Fowler beat Ondrej Pavelec at 19:53 of the first period and the teams went to intermission tied at one.

The Jets won the second period by a score of 3-2. Anaheim’s Corey Perry gave the Ducks a 2-1 lead at 3:08 and the deluge was on. Tyler Myers scored on a power play to tie it at 6:40 and then Blake Wheeler scored a dandy goal by ripping a shot under the bar to make it 3-2 Winnipeg. But Jacob Silfverberg, who has been outstanding in this series, scored on a snap shot at 16:04 to tie it up.

A few minutes later, Cam Fowler made a dumb play. The Ducks defenseman whipped a blind pass to the centre of the rink in his own zone and Bryan Little not only gobbled it up, he was able to rip a laser –beam slapshot over Andersen’s stick and under the bar. For the third straight game, the Jets took a one-goal lead – this time 4-3 – into the third period.

On the bright side, the Jets only gave up one goal in the third – not two. But once again, the big goal didn’t come until late. It was at 17:46 when Ryan Kesler took a pass from Silfverberg and ripped a shot into a wide-open net to send the game to overtime.

Still, the Jets will not forget the final two minutes of the third period. With the man advantage, Bryan Little hit the cross bar and Andrew Ladd was robbed by Andersen. The Jets had two glorious chances to win it, but failed to connect.

The Jets outshot the Ducks 34-27 in regulation time and often dominated the game, but they couldn’t hold the fort when it mattered most. In overtime, the Ducks outshot Winnipeg 4-1 and got a big goal from the guy who led all Ducks scorers against Winnipeg this season.

Well, somebody was happy (Photo by Jeff Miller).

So now the Jets have their collective backs against the wall. They trail 3-0 in the best-of-seven series with Game 4 coming up Wednesday night at 8:30 at the MTS Centre.

The Jets will have to figure out how to hold a lead or this series won’t make it to the weekend.

Posted by: Scott Taylor for RiverCitySports.com

Looking For Jets White-Out Gear?

The dream is alive and well, and you still have time to get in on the whiteout!

Here are some great options for white Jets apparel that you can purchase today at one of these great Winnipeg RCS Locations, or by shopping online!

 

The BELIEVE T-Shirt

The Go Jets Go T-Shirt

 

The Go Team Go Hoodie

 

The Ladies Sideline Track Jacket

 

 

 

 

The Long Sleeve Knit Rib Crew

 

 

 

 

Authentic Pro-Stitch Pre-Customized SCHEIFELE Jerseys

 

 

Authentic Pro-Stitch Pre-Customized BYFUGLIEN Jerseys

And there are still MANY more T-Shirts, Jerseys, and Everything Else available!
See you at the game!

Posted by: River City Sports for RiverCitySports.com

All Hail Manitoba’s Hockey Stars

A storm is rolling back into Winnipeg. There is snow on the ground and “The White Out” is expected Monday night inside MTS Centre.

Although the Anaheim Ducks have a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Stanley Cup Western Conference quarter-final with the Winnipeg Jets, the Jets are back home tonight at the friendly confines of the downtown rink. More than 15,000-plus-plus are expected at MTS Centre tonight, all wearing white, to cheer on the Jets as they play their first home playoff game since arriving from Atlanta in 2011 – and their first since the Jets 1.0 left town after losing to the Detroit Red Wings in the playoff series of 1996.

Ondrej Pavelec has to be at his best on Monday!

The Jets might be down 2-0 in this series to Anaheim, but they certainly aren’t out of it. Winnipeg has led both games, 2-1 and 1-0, after 40 minutes. Tonight, the Jets need a 60-minute effort against the top team in the Western Conference this season.

Game time tonight at MTS Centre is 8 p.m. Game 4 will go Wednesday at the downtown rink at 8:30 p.m. Game 5, if necessary is back in Anaheim, Game 6 is in Winnipeg and Game 7 is in Anaheim. The games can be seen on Sportsnet.

However, while the Jets prepare for Game 3 against the Ducks, a handful of other Manitoba players — our Manitoba players — are leaving their marks on this year’s post-season tournament…

Weise lets one go!

1. Winnipeg’s Dale Weise was the hero for the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday. Weise scored at 14:13 of the third period to tie the game at 1-1 and then scored again at 8:47 of overtime to give the Canadiens a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Weise, the game’s first star, gave the Canadiens a 3-0 series lead. In just 12 minutes and 56 seconds of ice time, Weise had three shots, two hits and a blocked shot.

Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks (Photo by James Carey Lauder).

2. Winnipeg’s Jonathan Toews scored his second goal of the playoffs and dished out an assist as he led the Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators. The game’s third star logged 16 minutes and 44 seconds of ice time and had three shots, three hits and a blocked shot as the Blackhawks took a 2-1 series lead.

Michael Ferland in the faceoff circle.

3. And it was quite a night for Brandon/Swan River’s Michael Ferland. The feisty former Brandon Wheat Kings star logged 12 minutes and nine seconds of ice time and had a fight (with former Manitoba Moose Kevin Bieksa), one shot, eight hits and one blocked shot as he helped the Calgary Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2. The Flames now have a 2-1 series lead.

As one scout said to me on the weekend, “Michael Ferland is making every one of the Vancouver Canucks squirrelly. He’s driving them nuts!”

This year’s playoffs wouldn’t be half as much fun without the players we know, the kids who grew up down the street. Manitoba is producing some outstanding hockey players these days and we can see proof of that every night, right in our living rooms.

Posted by: Scott Taylor for RiverCitySports.com

Jets Lose Heartbreaker in Game 2

At the end of Saturday night’s Stanley Cup playoff game, the look of frustration and heartache on the face of Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice said it all.

Anaheim’s Jacob Silfverberg scored at 19:39 of the third period to give his Ducks a 2-1 victory over the hard-luck Jets in Game 2 of the Western Conference quarter-final series.

The Jets were all over Anaheim goalie Frederik Andersen.

With the win, the Ducks took a 2-0 series lead, heading back to Winnipeg for Game 3 on Monday night.

This was a horrible game for the Jets to lose. Especially considering a couple, if not three, penalties should have been called against the Ducks late in the game but were either missed or overlooked. There was an obvious too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty that should have been called against Anaheim with about three minutes to play, but was ignored. Even on the play preceding Silfverberg’s winner, the goal scorer himself should have been called for holding Bryan Little’s stick, but that too was left without penalty.

On the night, the Jets were zero-for-four on the power play while Anaheim was one-for-four. Winnipeg has yet to convert a power play opportunity in this series.

The Jets opened the scoring at 15:43 of the second period when defenseman Adam Pardy, who was told four minutes before the game that he’d be suiting up, replacing Ben Chiarot, made a great move around the Ducks defense, went behind the net and wrapped the puck around, beating Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen.

Ondrej Pavelec made 37 saves and was the game’s second star.

Mathieu Perreault and Adam Lowery drew the assists.

However, for the second time in the first two games, the Jets couldn’t hold a one-goal lead after 40 minutes.

In the third period, big Patrick Maroon deflected a Cam Fowler shot to score Anaheim’s first goal at 10:43 and then Silfverberg scored the winner, ripping a shot from point-blank range past a startled Pavelec.

It was a shocking ending to a hard-fought game that looked for most of the third period as if it was headed toward overtime – and maybe even an all-night session of overtime.

But with only 21 seconds left on the clock, the Jets gave up a late goal and lost a game they had a great chance to steal. As it is, Anaheim will head to Winnipeg for games on Monday and Wednesday with a 2-0 series lead.

The best player on the ice for Winnipeg on Saturday was clearly the netminder. Pavelec made 37 saves as Winnipeg was outshot 39-29. Anaheim had 17 shots in the first period (17-9) and 17 more in the third (17-8). In all, Pavelec kept Anaheim scoreless through the first 49 minutes. He stopped Maroon and Matt Beleskey on partial breakaways and made a stunning left-pad save on Andrew Cogliano in the third. It was an especially heartbreaking loss for the goaltender.

Adam Pardy scores on the wrap around.

However, it should be noted that the big, fast Ducks forwards often had their own way in front of Pavelec and a number of the TV experts believed referees Mike Leggo and Jean Hebert missed an obvious goalie interference call that should have gone against Anaheim late in the third period.

Not surprisingly, the Jets didn’t get a lot of calls, but they did have four power plays and even with the man-advantage, they had very few scoring chances. If the power play doesn’t improve this week in Winnipeg it might be a short series. On the bright side, the Ducks failed to convert a 23-second two-man advantage early in the first period after back-to-back high-sticking penalties to Pardy and Tyler Myers. The Ducks had a 14-3 shot advantage to start the game.

Despite the loss, the Jets did hold Anaheim to only two goals, the first time in five meetings this season that the Jets have held Anaheim to fewer than four goals in a game. It’s a big step, but at some point the Jets offensive stars are going to have to get going. Winnipeg has scored only three goals in two games in this series.

The Jets returned home early on Sunday morning and will prepare for a crucial Game 3 on Monday. Game time is 8 p.m. Game 4 will go Wednesday, April 22 at MTS Centre at 8:30 p.m. Game 5, if necessary is back in Anaheim, Game 6 is in Winnipeg and Game 7 is in Anaheim. All the games can be seen on Sportsnet.

Posted by: Scott Taylor for RiverCitySports.com

Ducks Draw First Blood, Beat Jets 4-2

The Winnipeg Jets still haven’t solved the mystery of the Anaheim Ducks’ big men.

On Thursday night (and early Friday morning in Winnipeg), first star Corey Perry had two goals and two assists while second star Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and two assists as the Ducks came back from a 2-1 deficit after 40 minutes to beat the Jets 4-2.

Adam Lowry celebrates his first playoff goal.

With the win, the Ducks drew first blood in the opening round series of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs. It’s the second time the Thrashers/Jets franchise has reached the post-season and the teams – whether Winnipeg or Atlanta – have yet to win a game.

This one, however, was a rare one for Winnipeg. The Jets were 30-2-6 this season when leading after two periods, but on Thursday night in Anaheim, the Ducks simply had too much size and skill – and way too much Perry and Getzlaf.

“It was definitely physical,” said Jets forward Drew Stafford during his televised post-game news conference. “It was a tough hard-fought battle. We got into a little penalty trouble and we couldn’t overcome it. Next game we have to bring that physical play, but we have to do it between the whistles. We have to re-group and still make sure we bring that physical play.”

Sami Vatanen opened the scoring for Anaheim at 1:57 of the first period, but the Jets battled right back and scored at 2:46 as rookie Adam Lowry, playing in his first Stanley Cup playoff game, redirected a pass from Jacob Trouba and gave the Jets some early life.

This game was intense.

In the second period, Drew Stafford scored the only goal at the five-minute mark and Winnipeg led 2-1 after two periods.

But in the third, it was all Perry and Getzlaf. The Ducks two stars completely took over the game. Perry scored at 1:09 and then tallied the winner on a beautiful individual effort at 13:21. That goal had to be reviewed, but the puck clearly went across the line.

To the Jets credit, they didn’t quit and actually started taking the play to the Ducks late in the frame, but a penalty to Michael Frolik for boarding at 16:09 was the dagger. Getzlaf scored on the power play and Anaheim had a 4-2 victory.

The Jets did get a late power play, but couldn’t beat Frederik Andersen and the Ducks took a 1-0 series lead.

Once again, the Jets couldn’t hold to the Ducks to fewer than four goals. In three games during the regular season, the Ducks won 4-3 in overtime in Winnipeg on Dec. 7, and then won 4-1 in Winnipeg on Dec. 13. Then on Jan. 11, the Ducks beat the Jets 5-4 in a shootout in Anaheim. While none of the goals on Thursday night could be blamed on Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg didn’t get the monster saves you often require to win in the playoffs.

In the end, Anaheim outshot Winnipeg 33-27, but it was an even 10-10 in the third period, a period that the scoresheet says Anaheim dominated.

Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf.

On the evening, Winnipeg was zero-for-three on the power play while Anaheim was two-for-three with a shorthanded goal. Obviously, the Jets have some work to do on special teams. Both Perry and Getzlaf scored power play goals in the third, but Perry’s second goal of the night – and the period – came off a neutral ice turnover by Blake Wheeler and was scored shorthanded.

If there is one thing head coach Paul Maurice knows, it’s that his Jets can be better — especially late in the game.

Game 2 in the series goes Saturday night at the Honda Centre in Anaheim. The first puck will be dropped at 9:30 CDT.

Posted by: Scott Taylor for RiverCitySports.com

The Upstart Winnipeg Jets: As Good a Chance as Any

The best thing about the 2015 National Hockey League post-season is the randomness of it all.

This year’s Stanley Cup playoffs – for the first time in my lifetime – has no clear-cut favorite. Sure, Anaheim and the Rangers and Montreal and St. Louis were pretty good this season, but if you had $100 in your hand and were standing in front of the window at the Mirage Sportsbook, on which team would you lay your cash?

This guy will have to be really, really good. Or at least better than he was this season against Anaheim.

Tough choice, isn’t it? Frankly, the way the NHL season went, I wouldn’t want to bet against the Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning or Minnesota Wild.

In fact, I can’t see betting against anybody. If there was ever a time when a Stanley Cup tournament was wide open, this is that time. There is no Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers or Detroit Red Wings dynasty anymore. The defending champion Los Angeles Kings didn’t even qualify. The team with the best recent history is Chicago because they’ve won two Cups since 2010. That’s hardly what dynastic prohibitive favorites are made of.

So when the Jets start tonight, don’t be surprised if the Wild and Senators or Jets and Islanders are still standing when June rolls around.

Winnipeg’s beloved Jets will start their best-of-seven opening round marathon against the Anaheim Ducks in Southern California on Thursday night at 9:30 p.m. CST. And while the Jets franchise might not have made the playoffs until now, there are 14 players on the roster with playoff experience and three – Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien and Michael Frolik – have Stanley Cup rings. Ladd has two (Carolina 2006 and Chicago 2010).

Regardless of what happens in a week or so, this series has the feel of a Western Conference final, especially if you consider that the Jets were one of best teams in the NHL in the final month and a half of the season and the Ducks (along with the Blues) might have the best personnel in the West. Anaheim finished the season 51-24-7, first in the Pacific Division while Winnipeg was 43-26-13, the second Wild Card but the team that finished seventh overall in the Conference. These two teams finished 10 points apart in the standings and while Anaheim won all three games between the two clubs, a couple of the outcomes were close.

This series will be tough. Little takes down Silfverberg.

Anaheim won 4-3 in overtime in Winnipeg on Dec. 7 and then won 4-1 in Winnipeg Dec. 13. Then on Jan. 11, the Ducks beat the Jets 5-4 in a shootout in Anaheim. The Ducks have been superior all year, but not by much.

Andrew Ladd with two goals and an assist, Dustin Byfuglien with a goal and two assists and Mathieu Perreault with three assists led the Jets with three points each against the Ducks this season, while Ondrej Pavelec went 0-0-2 against Anaheim.

Rickard Rakell paced Anaheim with four goals and six points while Ducks goaltender Frederik Anderson played in all three games, going a perfect 3-0-0 while allowing eight goals. The Jets have added a number of players since the last time they played Anaheim. It will be the first game as members of the Jets for Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, Jiri Tlusty and Lee Stempniak. This is not the same Jets team that lost three times to the Ducks this season.

The Jets aggressive forecheck did not stop the Ducks from scoring this season and in all three meetings, the Jets goaltending was suspect. That’s not the way the Jets played down the stretch.

If Winnipeg expects to win this series, it will have to find a way to shut down Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and while that might be easier said than done, the fact that the Jets are much bigger and heavier than they were in January will give Winnipeg a bit of an edge.

The experts say it will be intense in front of this guy.

For Winnipeg, goaltender Ondrej Pavelec must step up (Pavelec produced three straight shutouts in the final week to get the Jets into the post-season) and the Jets Top 7 forwards – Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Andrew Ladd, Mark Scheifele, Drew Stafford, Mathieu Perreault and Michael Frolik – must be at their best.

Still, to their credit, the Ducks can score, but overall, they only scored six more goals than the Jets this season.

The key for both teams will be their size and strength. This, I will guarantee: Dustin Byfuglien will be Public Enemy No. 1 in Southern California by the end of this weekend. He can hit, he likes to hit and he has a nasty temper. He will be running at people and the Ducks and their fans will feel his presence.

Defensively, any group led by Francois Beauchemin, Cam Fowler, James Wisniewski and Sami Vatanen will be good. These guys can skate, move the puck quickly, have big shots and can generate offense from the back end. Still, the Jets are a handful. Winnipeg has big forwards who are certainly not afraid. If Winnipeg can bang these guys, especially the 5-foot-10 Vatanen and the 5-foot-11 (32-year-old) Wisniewski

Still, there is little doubt that head coach Paul Maurice believes in his players and the Jets players obviously believe in themselves. However, even with a marvelous collection of shooters, the Jets will need to outscore a team the features Perry, Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Jacob Silfverberg, Rickard Rakell and Kyle Palmieri (who scored a magnificent overtime winner in Winnipeg back in December).

Rickard Rakell led all Ducks scorers against Winnipeg this season.

Fortunately, the Jets defensive unit is rock solid and the goaltending has been frighteningly good, and that if that keeps up – three shutouts in a row and one goal in 245 minutes down the stretch — so the Jets might not need to score very much.

Not many so-called hockey experts are picking the Jets to win this one. Although, most say that if the Jets do survive, they could easily become Western Conference champions.

And what the heck? With great goaltending comes playoff miracles. If Pavelec continues to play the way he did last week, he should run for Premier. He’s already a lot more popular than Greg Selinger will ever be. In the meantime, the Jets mantra should be check, check, check and check some more. If they do, there is no telling what might happen.

The first home game for the Jets is Monday April 20, at 8:30 p.m. CDT (what a stupid time for a home game in Winnipeg). I suspect the MTS Centre will be rockin’.

Posted by: Scott Taylor for RiverCitySports.com

Cleveland Browns New Uniforms: New Unis, Same Lousy Team

It hasn’t been a great off-season for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. Quarterback Johnny Manziel went into rehab and the GM was suspended four games for texting the coach during a game. Oh well, the owner didn’t go to jail for price fixing gasoline so there is always a silver lining.

In order to give their beleaguered fans something to cheer about, the club unveiled their new uniforms this week. The fans seemed to love them.

Nearly 3,000 Browns supporters — a majority of whom were season-ticket holders — were invited to the Cleveland Convention Center to pose for pictures with current and past players.

So the Browns have a new motto: “New uniforms, same lousy team”

The Browns new uniforms.

Posted by: Scott Taylor for RiverCitySports.com

It Will Be All About Pavs When the Playoffs Start

It wasn’t long ago when Ondrej Pavelec might have been considered the Winnipeg Jets’ No. 2 goaltender.

There was definitely a stretch from mid-December until early March when Michael Hutchinson had taken the reins.

First he beat the Wild 2-0.

However, down the stretch, when it mattered, Pavs was The Man!

And yesterday, the Natonal Hockey League acknowledged that truth once again.

The NHL named Pavelec its Second Star of the Week, for the final week of the NHL season. It was the second time this season and the second time in less than a months that Pavelec was recognized by the league for his outstanding play. He was named the First Star of the Week for the week ending March 22.

Pavelec did not allow a goal in the three games he played last week as he led the Jets to the team’s best finish ever and a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s the first time the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise has reached the playoffs since 2007.

During the week, a week in which he was battling the flu, Pavelec stopped all 83 shots he faced in recording three consecutive shutouts (how that gets him “Second” Star and not “First” is anybody’s guess). He had a 32-save shutout on April 6 in what he called “one of the toughest building in the league to play in,” at Minnesota. The Jets won that game 2-0.

then he beat the Blues 1-0.

He then became the first goalie in Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise history to record back-to-back shutouts on consecutive nights with a 31-save effort in blanking the St. Louis Blues 1-0. He completed his week with a 21-save shutout against the Colorado Avalanche on April 9, but the Jets dropped a 1-0 shootout decision to Patrick Roy’s Avs.

As a result of his play last week, he will enter the post-season on shutout streak of 187 minutes and five seconds. He completed the week with a 0.00 goals against average and a 1.000 save percentage.

Overall this season, Pavelec had his best year as an NHL netminder. That’s in no small way to an incredible finish. He completed the 2014-15 season with a record of 22-16-8 with career bests in save percentage (.920), goals against average (2.28), and shutouts (five). His 16 career shutouts became a franchise record this season. He is already the franchise leader in games played (338) and wins (135).

Then he shut out the Avs for 65 minutes.

“I think we played good games as a team,” said Pavelec earlier this week, trying to re-direct the credit to his teammates. “In the two games we won, we scored the first goal and that was big. I was able to see the puck. The guys cleaned the front of the net and let me see the puck. It was a great team effort.

“Lately I think we’ve been good on how we start the game. Every game is kind of different. Against Rangers (last weekend) it was back and forth but last week we took the lead and we played really well defensively.”

During the wins over Minnesota and St. Louis and in the 0-0 tie in Colorado, it was almost a brawl in front of Pavelec’s crease. Teams don’t give goaltenders much room these days.

“That’s the style those teams play,” said Pavelec. “That’s what those teams do and they’re pretty good at it. That’s the way the NHL is: Lots of tough play in front of the net, lots of scrambles. And a lot of point shots with big guys in front of the net. That’s NHL hockey today.

“It’s always a big battle in front of the net. It’s the NHL style. But our guys have been handling it really well. They’ve been cleaning out the front of the net and giving me a good view.”

That’s exactly what they’ll need to do this week when the Stanley Cup playoffs open in Anaheim. Thursday night, 9:30 on Sportsnet.

Posted by: Scott Taylor for RiverCitySports.com

The Stanley Cup Playoffs: The First Round is The Best Round

Right after the lost season of 2004-05, Commissioner Gary Bettman hinted that he believed parity was right around the corner in the National Hockey League.

At the time, the Detroit Red Wings were dominating the regular season, but the commissioner truly believed that the league’s talent level would eventually be distributed almost evenly throughout every member club. Most insiders thought he was dreaming and while the Toronto Maple Leafs (a team that fired its GM and coaching staff on Sunday morning), Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres remain consistently near the bottom of the loop, it’s apparent that any season, any team can reach the Stanley Cup playoffs.

 

Hey, there are five Canadian teams (out of seven) in the playoffs this spring, at a time when the Canadian dollar has nearly collapsed in comparison to the U.S. dollar. Maybe the salary cap does create parity.

Let’s look at recent history. In 2011-12, upstarts Phoenix (now Arizona), Florida and Nashville made the playoffs. After the lockout shortened season of 2012-13, Columbus, Dallas and Minnesota claimed post-season berths and as we head toward the 2014-15 playoffs with Winnipeg, Calgary, the Islanders and Ottawa in and Boston, Dallas, Colorado, Columbus and San Jose out, it’s fair to say that in any given season, any team can reach the Big Dance – and any other team can be turned away at the door.

After all, last year at this time, the Boston Bruins were the No. 1-seeded team in the East. The Bruins finished the year with 117 points and won the President’s Trophy. This year, the Bruins were ninth in the East with 96 points and are now getting together to clean out their lockers.

That means, of course, that predictions are pretty much worthless at this time of year. Oh, don’t worry, we are going to be idiots and try to predict the outcome of all eight first-round series, but it’s hard to imagine we could possibly get all eight of those prognostications correct. Think about it. There is parity in the NHL. While the New York Rangers won the President’s Trophy and had a tremendous season, they will head into the playoffs only 15 points better than the team they’ll face in the opening round – the eighth-place team in the East – the Pittsburgh Penguins. Anaheim, a prohibitive favorite in the West, was only 10 points better than its opponent, the seventh-place Winnipeg Jets.

“There is absolutely no doubt that the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is always the best,” said New York Rangers professional scout, Tom Thompson. “You have teams that finished high in the standings expecting to win against teams that were lucky to make the playoffs and now have nothing to lose. The first round is always the toughest, the fastest, the closest and the most exciting. The first round is where the upsets happen. This is always hockey at its very best.”

We’ll start from East and work our way West. The 2015 Stanley Cup Tournament begins on Wednesday, April 15 with 16 teams. In two months, only one will be standing:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens

Series A: Montreal Canadiens (50-22-10, First in Atlantic) vs. Ottawa Senators (42-26-13, First Wild Card)

Ottawa went 23-4-4 down the stretch to reach the playoffs while the Canadiens rode the brilliance of NHL MVP favorite Carey Price to a 50-win season. So will it be the consistency of the Habs or the white-hot streakiness of the emotional Sens? Sens goalie Andrew Hammond and rookie rightwinger Mark Stone came in and turned the Senators around after the firing of head coach Paul MacLean. Meanwhile, in Montreal, team leader Max Pacioretty (37 goals this season) and young stars Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher make the Habs a formidable offensive force. The Canadiens also have a tremendous defensive pairing with P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov, but Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson is one of the finest D-men in the game. This will be an outstanding All-Canadian series.

Players to Watch: Max Pacioretty and P.K. Subban, Montreal; Mark Stone and Erik Karlsson, Ottawa.

Season Series: Senators won 3-1.

Our Choice: Ottawa in six games.

Steven Stamkos and Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Lightning by James Carey Lauder.

Series B: Tampa Bay Lightning (50-24-8, Second in Atlantic) vs. Detroit Red Wings
 (43-25-14, Third in Atlantic)

The Tampa Bay Lightning are led by high-scoring Steven Stamkos (43 goals in all 82 games this season), but they are not a one-man show. They also have three emerging stars: Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat. In fact, all three were so good this season, that one or two of them might get a Hart Trophy vote. Fact is, it might be the best young line in hockey. The Red Wings are led by two aging superstars – Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk – but the emergence of young Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm have made the Red Wings a tough team to beat. Tampa’s two best players might be defensemen Anton Stralman and Victor Hedman. Detroit is led on the back end by Niklas Kronwall and Jonathan Ericsson. In net, the Lightning have 39-win Ben Bishop while Detroit will go with either Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek. Neither team has a great power play.

Players to Watch: Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit; Steven Stamkos and Anton Stralman, Tampa Bay.

Season Series: Lightning won 3-1

Our Choice: Tampa in six games.

Sidney Crosby by Jeff Miller.

Series C: New York Rangers (53-22-7, First in Metropolitan) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (43-27-12, Second Wild Card)

The Rangers have one thing nobody else has: Henrik Lundqvist in goal. Of course, to be fair, when Lundqvist missed 25 games with a vascular problem, the Rangers went 18-4-3 with Cam Talbot and Mackenzie Skapski in net. Now, however, with Lundqvist back, the Rangers have themselves a President’s Trophy and a good shot at the Cup. The Penguins, meanwhile, are led by Sidney Crosby, (third in NHL scoring with 84 points), and the oft-injured Evgeni Malkin. The Rangers offense will come from Rick Nash (42 goals), Marty St. Louis, Derick Brassard, Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello. Nash has eaten the Penguins alive this season. Last spring, the Rangers rallied from 3-1 down against the Penguins to win the best-of-seven Eastern Conference second round series in seven games. This year, New York defeated Pittsburgh 5-0 on Nov. 11 and 5-2 on Jan. 18. In between those two games was a 3-2 shootout win by the Penguins on Nov. 15 and a 4-3 overtime win by the Rangers on Dec. 8. The Penguins didn’t clinch a playoff spot until the final game of the season. The Rangers almost coasted to the regular season title.

Players to Watch: Rick Nash and Henrik Lundqvist, NY Rangers; Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh.

Season Series: Rangers won 3-1

Our Choice: Rangers in five.

Travis Hamonic, New York Islanders (Photo by James Carey Lauder)

Series D: Washington Capitals (45-26-11, Second in Metropolitan) vs. New York Islanders (47-28-7, Third in Metropolitan)

This is a toss-up. Both teams had 101 points and both teams tied in ROW with 40. Washington is thought of an offensive-minded team, but the Islanders outscored the Caps 252-242 this season. The Islanders have a terrific defense led by Nick Leddy and Travis Hamonic, but Washington allowed fewer goals 203-230. While everyone will be watching Alexander Ovechkin (53 goals and fourth in scoring with 81 points) and Nicklas Backstrom (sixth in scoring with 78 points), the Islanders had the No. 2 scorer in the league in John Tavares (38 goals and 86 points). These two teams aren’t what they seem, but what they will be is close. Flip a coin.

Players to Watch: Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, Washington; John Tavares and Nick Leddy, NY Islanders.

Season Series: Tied 2-2

Our Choice: Washington in seven games.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Jason Pominville photo by Jeff Miller.

Series E: St. Louis Blues (51-24-7, First in Central) vs. Minnesota Wild (46-28-8, First Wild Card)

This is a series between a team that finished second in the West and a team that finished sixth, and yet the season series was tied 2-2 and there were only nine points separating them. St. Louis is led by an outstanding offense that includes T.J. Oshie, Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexander Steen, Jaden Schwartz and David Backes, a crew that scored between 55 and 73 points. Tarasenko had 37 goals while Steen (24), Schwartz (28) and Backes (26) each scored at least 24. The Blues are the highest-scoring Western Conference team in the playoffs. Minnesota, meanwhile, was dead in the water in January. They were 12th and done. Then GM Chuck Fletcher acquired goalie Devan Dubnyk and everything changed. The Wild went 28-9-3 after Dubnyk arrived and suddenly, this 12th-place team was sixth and had a legitimate chance to make some late-April noise.

Players to Watch: Vladimir Tarasenko and Alexander Steen, St. Louis; Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, Minnesota.

Season Series: Tied 2-2

Our Choice: St. Louis in six games.

Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks by James Carey Lauder.

Series F: Nashville Predators (47-25-10, Second in Central) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (48-28-6, Third in Central)

When the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, they started their run by eliminating the Nashville Predators in six games. They’d certainly love to do it again. The Hawks are in the playoffs for the seventh straight year but they will start the playoffs without their scoring star Patrick Kane (broken collarbone). However, after Kane was injured, captain Jonathan Toews took the team on his shoulders and carried them to 102 points and the playoffs. The key to the Hawks is its brilliant defense, led by Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith. Nashville is blessed with one of the best goalies in the game, Pekka Rinne and he’s blessed with an outstanding defense led by Shea Weber, Roman Josi and young Seth Jones. Amazingly, Nashville’s top forwards were rookie Filip Forsberg and the aging Mike Ribeiro. Who woulda thought?

Players to Watch: Shea Weber and Filip Forsberg, Nashville; Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith, Chicago.

Season Series: Blackhawks won 3-1

Our Choice: Chicago in five games.

Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg Jets.

Series G: Anaheim Ducks (51-24-7, First in Pacific) vs. Winnipeg Jets (43-26-13, Second Wild Card)

These two teams finished 10 points apart in the standings and while Anaheim won all three games between the two clubs, a couple of the outcomes were close. Anaheim won 4-3 in overtime in Winnipeg on Dec. 7 and then won 4-1 in Winnipeg Dec. 13. Then on Jan. 11, the Ducks beat the Jets 5-4 in a shootout in Anaheim. The Ducks have been superior all year, but not by much. The Jets aggressive forecheck did not stop the Ducks from scoring this season and in all three meetings, the Jets goaltending was suspect. If Winnipeg expects to win this series, it will have to find a way to shut down Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and that might be easier said than done. For Winnipeg, goaltender Ondrej Pavelec must step up (Pavelec produced three straight shutouts in the final week to get the Jets into the post-season) and the Jets Top 7 forwards – Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Andrew Ladd, Mark Scheifele, Drew Stafford, Mathieu Perreault and Michael Frolik – must be at their best. This series is Anaheim’s to lose.

Players to Watch: Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers, Winnipeg; Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim.

Season Series: Ducks won 3-0.

Our Choice: Winnipeg in five games.

Johnny Gaudreau.

Series H: Vancouver Canucks (48-29-5, Second in Pacific) vs. Calgary Flames (45-30-7, Third in Pacific)

The Pacific Division was relatively weak this season, but that doesn’t mean a series between two Pacific teams separated by only four points all year won’t be spirited. In fact, the Flames and Canucks hate each other and we’ll see that in spades this week. Not surprisingly, the last three times the Flames and Canucks have met in the playoffs, the winner of the series eventually reached the Stanley Cup Final. Calgary is led by the big line with veteran Jiri Hudler, rookie Johnny Gaudreau and 20-year-old centre Sean Monahan. For Vancouver, it’s all about the Sedins, Henrik and Daniel, along with a number of unheralded, but-hardworking forwards – Radim Vrbata (30 goals playing with the Sedins), Alexandre Burrows, Jannik Hansen, Derek Dorsett, Bo Horvat, Chris Higgins and Nick Bonino. On defense, the Canucks are led by Dan Hamhuis, Alexander Edler, Kevin Bieksa, Luca Sbisa, Chris Tanev and Yannick Weber. Calgary lost its best defenseman, Mark Giordano, for the season with a biceps injury, so Kris Russell, Dennis Wideman, T.J. Brodie and Deryk Engelland will have to be at their best. The Flames have played better than their roster all season long. They’ll have to keep it up this April.

Players to Watch: Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Vancouver; Johnny Gaudreau and Jiri Hudler, Calgary.

Season Series: Tied at 2-2.

Our Choice: Vancouver in seven games.

Posted by: Scott Taylor for RiverCitySports.com