Boy oh boy, we got ourselves a game 7. I’m not trying to come off as some sort of hockey hardo, but game 7 in the Stanley Cup playoffs are miles ahead of any other major sport. At the beginning of round 2, I said that this will be the best series of the post season and it has not disappointed. I will now break down the key players on each team, followed up by my prediction.
PREDATORS
Pekka Rinne: IMO, the Predators will win this game if Pekka Rinne shows up. All year, Preds fans have been telling everyone and their brother that Pekka Rinne should win the Vezina. Pekka Rinne this, Pekka Rinne that and to be honest I’m sick of it. I don’t care how great of a season you have if you can’t back it up in the playoffs. Here are Rinne’s stat line.
These aren’t exactly Vezina type numbers. In 12 starts, Rinne has been yanked 3 times, he has a SV% JUST over .9 and almost a 3.00 GAA. If the Predators win game 7 it will be because Pekka Rinne shows up. You can argue that Filip Forsberg is THE key player but Forsberg will have a tough time winning a game if his teams gives up more than 3 goals.
Winnipeg Jets
Nikolaj Ehlers: This postseason has been awesome for my Winnipeg Jets. The big names have shown up: Scheifele, 14 points. Wheeler, 13 points. Byfuglien, 12 points. Statsny, 11 points. Laine, 9 points. The Jets have been what everyone thought they could be, which is an extremely talented offensive group, a tough and heavy defensive group and an All- American goalie who has been lights out. Even though most Jets have shown up, Nikolaj Ehlers has not. In 10 games, Ehlers has only 5 points. Is this surprising? Sure is. During the regular seasons, Ehlers was third on the team in points with 60.
Could he be injured? Sure could. But you know what? It’s the playoffs. EVERYONE is injured. If Ehlers can put some pucks on net, get the feet moving and serve some sort of role for the Jets, it will be VERY hard for the Predators to contain. I guess the question is, will he show up?
Prediction
Logically, I should pick the Predators. The Preds are coming off of a HUGE win in Winnipeg and coming to play on home ice. Fuck, they will probably have Garth Brooks or George Strait sing the anthem and the game will be over by the time the fucking puck even drops. Why? Because that’s what cowboys do. Having said that, I’m a heart guy. I’m a character guy. I do a TON of things in life based on my heart instead of logic.
GO JETS GO. I LOVE MY TEAM AND I CAN NEVER, EVER QUIT ON THEM. LAINE IS GOING TO SCORE A THOUSAND GOALS, BYFUGLIEN WILL BULLY EVERYONE WEARING YELLOW AND THE WINNIPEG JETS WILL GO ON TO THE WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS.. maybe.
