Jets go cold on sizzling hot day, blow chance to eliminate Predators

The Winnipeg Jets took the whole whiteout thing a little too far on Monday, turning out an effort that was completely colourless.

The sickly pale performance even left a blank space on their side of the scoreboard as theJets fell 4-0 to the Nashville Predators inGame 6 of the NHL'sWestern Conference semi-final.

That didn't stop their fans from staying upbeat, however. As the clock counted down the final two minutes a chant started at one end of the rink and spread right around the oval: "Jets in seven. Jets in seven."

'In Peg City, all we do is win ... W's are in our name!': Winnipeg Jets fans unfazed by Game 6 loss to Preds

6 years ago

Duration 0:29

Some Winnipeg Jets fans aren't letting Monday night's loss faze them.

That same optimism is what's keeping JustinMorsongoing. Thelucha-libremasked fan admitted he's rattled "a little bit" byMonday'sloss but fully expects a rebound by the Jets in Game 7.

"They need to play with desperation and go there and throw those catfish back over, throw 'em in their faces on the bench," he said.

It's the second straight home defeat for the Jets, who, until the Game 4 loss last Thursday, hadn't been on the short end of a score at BellMTSPlace sinceFeb. 27.

"It's a little depressing to have to talk after this game. We were kind of obviously hoping for a better outcome," said fan LeifSigurdson. "But we're looking forward to Game 7. They're gonna pull it off."

There were some moments that made Winnipeg fans hold their breath, like whenKyle Connor made a nifty move to get in front of Predator Pekka Rinne in the first period. But the big goalie stretched out a pad and blocked Connor's attempt to slide it past him.

Paul Stastny was also stuffed at the goal crease in the first then had a couple close calls in the second with Rinne down, but the puck bobbled past the open cage.

That's how the night went. Although they outshotNashville, the bounces did not go Winnipeg's way.

"It almost looked like slow motion out there a little bit," Morsonsaid about the Jets' efforts, stunted by Nashville's defensive trap.

The Jets, who were down 1-0 after the first period, werefortunate it wasn't more.

They had the man advantage on three occasions but their anemic power play was easily overpowered by Nashville's aggressive penalty kill. Instead, the Preds took a couple of shorthanded chances.

Despite it being a sweltering day in Winnipeg, with temperatures that reached 31.4 C, the Jets went cold and blew their chance to eliminate the Preds in front of a devoted crowd that numbered around 40,000 15,321 inside and another 25,000 outside in the street party.

"It's unreal. It's crazy, this heat," saidSteve Kush, decked out in white coveralls, white face paint and an oversized home-made hockey helmetcreated from, appropriately for the weather, a cooler.

"I had to thin it down a lot," he noted about his costume. "I've got a little muscle shirt on underneath instead of a big sweater. I love it."

Looking for more history

Fans were counting on the Jets to make another mark in their historicplayoff run.

No WinnipegNHLfranchise has ever advanced past the Round 2 of the post-season and the Jets had the Preds on the ropes with a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Winnipeg's win in Game 1 of the series against Nashville was the first time a Winnipeg franchise had won a game in the second round. The original Jets went there twice and were swept in four straight both times.

The deciding Game 7 of the Jets-Preds series will take place Thursday back inNashville.

And if the current pattern holds, it should be Winnipeg's turn to celebrate then. Neitherteam haswon consecutive games in this series.

"We're obviously hopeful that the pattern does hold. The fans went out for it tonight and it didn't work out for us at all,"Sigurdsonsaid. "We didn't even get a goal.

"But I guess we're just saving it up for Game 7. We've shown we can win in Nashville and we're relying on that happening."

The winner will advance to the Western Conference Final and face the Las Vegas Golden Knights, who knocked off the San Jose Sharks on Sunday to win their series 4-2.

• More on the Winnipeg Jets playoff run