NASHVILLE – Connor Hellebuyck made 47 saves to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup on Friday night.
Mark Scheifele scored twice for Winnipeg, while Brandon Tanev and Paul Stastny added goals as well.
Despite putting 48 shots on Hellebuyck, Kevin Fiala’s third-period goal was the only one that eluded the Vezina Trophy finalist.
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After shutting out Minnesota in the final two games in the first round, Hellebuyck’s shutout streak ended at 163:00.
Tanev scored the game’s first goal at 14:51 of the opening period.
After withstanding a strong Nashville push to begin the game, Bryan Little forced a turnover in the neutral zone and outbattled Predators defenceman Alexei Emelin in the right circle before sending a backhand pass toward Tanev at the left goal-post. The puck hit the stick of Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne and Tanev tapped the rebound in for his second goal of the post-season.