Well guess the goalie duel of game four was short lived. There was no shortage of goals in game five between the Nashville Predators and the Winnipeg Jets as they over doubled their total production of the previous game. Though despite all the goals in the game there were zero in the first period with the Preds having the edge in shots 11-7. The action really kicked off in the second period where there would be a total of six goals.
The first goal of the game would be a rather fortuitous bounce off of Jets center Paul Stastny. A shot by Laine would hit Stastny in the chest and past Pekka Rinne for the 1-0 Jets lead. Nashville would tie the game four minutes later as Yannick Weber would take the puck down the left wing and roof it over the glove hand of Connor Hellebuyck for the 1-1 tie. Jets rookie sensation Kyle Connor would put the Jets back in front as a scramble ensued in front of Rinne. The resulting play would see the puck find its way onto the stick of Connor who would bury it in the open cage giving Winnipeg a 2-1 lead. Two minutes later an even bigger mad scramble would occur in front of the Nashville goal. Several players tried in vain to bang the puck in, and several others tried to either clear it or get a whistle. The Jets would get the puck out of the crowd and tee up Dustin Byfuglien for the blast from the point and past a screened Rinne for a 3-1 Jets lead. They weren’t done there either as Connor would notch his second of the night. Wheeler would get the puck in front of the net and find a wide open Connor for the one-timer and the 4-1 goal. The Preds weren’t dead yet though as Ryan Johansen would put a squeaker past the blocker arm of Hellebuyck cutting the lead to 4-2. The Jets held the second period shot edge at 15-9 and carried a two goal lead into the third.
Winnipeg seemed to be dissatisfied with the two goal lead as they’d make it three just twenty eight seconds into the period. Connor would turn Johansen into a pylon and feed Mark Scheifele for the tap in and a 5-2 Winnipeg lead. They say a three goal lead is the most dangerous lead in hockey, so that’s probably why the Jets decided to make the lead a four goal lead six minutes later. Mathieu Perreault who’d just returned from an injury would be the recipient of a very lucky bounce off the boards. A failed clearing attempt would find its way onto the stick of Ehlers who’d bank the puck off the back boards and through Rinne to the stick of Perreault who had a gaping maw to send the puck. With the score being 6-2 now the Preds would put in backup goalie Jusse Saros for the remainder of the game. Despite the Preds out shooting Winnipeg 20-10 in the frame they were unable to put another past Hellebuyck and as such the final would be 6-2. Nashville out shot Winnipeg 40-32 in the game but now find themselves trailing 3-2 in the series with game six on the road. Game six will be Monday May 7th in Winnipeg where the Jets will look to advance at home to the Western conference final.
