Soaring Jets get set to start at home vs. experienced Wild
The NHL's return to Winnipeg has been an instant success in the seats, with regular sellouts since the Jets arrived in 2011 for a second landing in the smallest market in the league.
Progress on the ice has been measurably slower, with just one appearance in the playoffs in the first six years in wintry Manitoba after a struggling franchise moved north from Atlanta, but the patience of general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has been rewarded and then some this season.
Sporting the second-best record in the NHL, the Jets have carried the momentum of 11 wins in their last 12 games into their first-round series against Minnesota.
They boast one of the game's coveted prodigies in 19-year-old Patrik Laine and his 44 goals. They have a balanced roster that ranked second in the league in scoring and fifth in fewest goals against. They face the Wild on Wednesday night at home, where they're an NHL-best 32-7-2 this season.
''Enjoy it, right?'' Jets coach Paul Maurice said. ''We work real hard to get to a place where there's mounting pressure and mounting enthusiasm, and then we want to keep working to get to more and more and more. So you have to be a part of it. You have to enjoy it for sure.''
Their time to take a big step forward to join the league's elite has arrived. They even, considering their seed, represent the best hope to bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada for the first time since 1993.
Toronto is the only other team that made the playoffs this year, and the Maple Leafs must start the first round on the road against the Boston Bruins.
''You don't know how many times you're going to come across this opportunity,'' goalie Connor Hellebuyck said, ''and especially now with the great team like we have here. I'm really excited to see what these guys bring.''
With another series of ''Whiteout " events planned for Bell MTS Place, with fans encouraged to wear white team gear to the arena and surrounding parties, the city has been buzzing all week even as winter again overstays its welcome.
''I'm very excited. I can start feeling my body getting those butterflies,'' Hellebuyck said.
The knock against the Jets is the collective lack of postseason experience, with a four-game sweep by the Anaheim Ducks in 2015 serving as the only action in the playoffs for some of these players. Laine hadn't even been drafted yet.
That's where the Wild have a clear advantage, with this their sixth straight appearance in the 16-team tournament.
Though they were overshadowed in the Western Conference this season by the Jets, the Presidents' Trophy-winning Nashville Predators and the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, the Wild posted the third-best record in franchise history. Center Eric Staal had 42 goals, his most in 12 years. Jason Zucker scored a career-high 33 goals. Their defensemen ranked second in the league with 200 points.
''You really got to go through it to know what it's about,'' left wing Zach Parise said, adding: ''I know they've been short-lived the last couple years, but you hope with just being there that will help us.''
Here are some other key angles to follow with the series:
PALS IN PADS
Hellebuyck and Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk met last summer in British Columbia during training sessions and rounds of golf that forged a friendship, with Dubnyk encouraging Hellebuyck to keep his head up after the Jets signed Steve Mason to an $8.2 million contract.
Sure enough, Mason stumbled early and Hellebuyck supplanted him as the primary netminder to tie for the NHL lead with 44 wins and finish eighth in goals-against average.
''It's been fun to watch but that's enough now,'' Dubnyk said. ''It's been a great year for him, but I'll stop cheering for him now.''
SUTER OUT, SPURGEON IN
One of the Wild's greatest assets for this matchup will be absent, with a season-ending broken ankle for stalwart Ryan Suter, who tied a franchise defenseman record with 51 points in 78 games.
The upside is that Jared Spurgeon, who missed the last 17 games with a torn hamstring, is on track to return. He practiced with one of the two power-play units on Tuesday, and coach Bruce Boudreau said he'd make a game-time decision about Spurgeon's availability on Wednesday.
WHEELS UP
Jets captain Blake Wheeler tied for the NHL lead with 68 assists this season and finished ninth with 91 points, fueling a potent first line with Kyle Connor and Mark Schiefele to take some of the scoring pressure off Laine.
Wheeler played at Breck High School in the Twin Cities area and in college for Minnesota before turning pro. He has never missed more than three games in any regular season since his debut with Boston in 2008-09.
CULLEN'S CUPS
Wild center Matt Cullen contributed a modest 11 goals and 11 assists from the fourth line, but the 41-year-old's contribution transcends points. He's played in 123 postseason games, winning three Stanley Cups including the past two with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
''This is why we got him, his experience in positions like we're in right now,'' Boudreau said. ''So we're hoping he's going to be valuable.''
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