Fansided

Winnipeg Jets vs. Minnesota Wild: Game 5 preview and predictions

By Bruin Belisle

WINNIPEG, MB - APRIL 13: Winnipeg Jets fans rise to their feet and cheer during a third period stoppage in play between the Jets and the Minnesota Wild in Game Two of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on April 13, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB - APRIL 13: Winnipeg Jets fans rise to their feet and cheer during a third period stoppage in play between the Jets and the Minnesota Wild in Game Two of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on April 13, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Winnipeg Jets return home on Friday with a 3-1 series lead. They’ll look to close this series out and move on to the second round for the first time since reestablishing in Winnipeg.

The Minnesota Wild are in trouble. They entered this series without their top defenseman in Ryan Suter and suffered the loss of their top-scoring playoff forward, Zach Parise, to a broken sternum. Looking at the final scores, you would think the three Winnipeg wins were close, but they were not.

Winnipeg has dominated the offensive zone, proving to be too deep of a team for Minnesota to match up with. Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk has been fantastic in this series, keeping the Wild close while taking almost 50 more shots than Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck over the four-game series.

This Jets team is built for the playoffs. They have a Vezina Trophy finalist in net who picked up his second shutout of the playoffs on Tuesday night, strong experienced leaders in Blake Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien and a roster packed with young talent. They are also heading home to the Winnipeg white-out crowd, which is one of the best home-ice arenas in hockey.

The Wild will have their hands full trying to get this series back to Minnesota. They’ll need strong play on all fronts along with a bit of luck. Devan Dubnyk will keep them in this game, it’s just a matter of one of their forwards figuring out how to get past Hellebuyck, since he’s clearly moved past that Game 3 rout.

The Winnipeg fans are expecting big things in this game. Over 5,500 fans showed up outside the MTS Center for Game 1, leading to organizers expanding the viewing party to accommodate the 9,000 who showed up for Game 2. Ahead of Game 5, Winnipeg has again expanded the viewing area to accommodate 15,000 fans decked out in all-white Jets gear (matching the capacity inside the arena). These white-outs are showing that it’s still winter in Winnipeg and they want you to know it.

Next: 25 most bizarre goalie masks in NHL history

Predictions:

Don’t be surprised to see some rough stuff in this game. Tensions will likely boil over for the Wild players as they realize their season is coming to a close, especially after all of the media attention surrounding the Josh Morrissey cross-check to Eric Staal’s head in Game 4.

If there is an over/under on how many times the outdoor crowd will be featured or the “white-out” will be mentioned, take the over. Winnipeg is proving to be one of the best fan-bases in all of sports and the networks are loving it. With the Toronto Maple Leafs faltering, look for Canadian networks to go all-in on the Jets (“About time!” – every Jets fan).

The Winnipeg Jets will win this game by a score of 4-1. Devan Dubnyk will stand on his head for most of the game but the Jets attack, fueled by their raucous white-out home crowd, will be too much. Look for goals from Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele and rookie Kyle Connor, who has yet to score in this series. They Jets will add an empty-netter at the end to ice this one.

For more from the NHL playoffs, make sure to follow FanSided and stay tuned to our NHL hub for all the latest news and results.

Home/NHL Playoffs