They knew when they were going to be playing game one. But the Vegas Golden Knights didn’t know who they were playing or where until Thursday night.
The Winnipeg Jets clinched the second round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a huge 5-1 win against the Nashville Predators.
READ MORE: Vegas, here they come. Winnipeg Jets advance to conference final with Game 7 triumph
Now, the Jets and the Golden Knights move on to duke it out in the Western Conference Finals.
The best-of-seven series opens Saturday night in Winnipeg at 6 p.m. and the Jets will have home ice advantage for the first two games in the series.
Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck said Friday that the Western Conference Finals game between the team and the Vegas Golden Knights would be a “dog fight to the end” because of the strength of the opposing team.
Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler said they have not approached the Vegas Golden Knights as an expansion team, saying the players are seasoned and it would be a “tough match-up.”
READ MORE: The road to Sin City: Winnipeggers look to bring the Whiteout to Las Vegas
While this will be a quick turnaround for the Jets, Wheeler said he’s not concerned.
Wheeler said they don’t need to “reinvent” the wheel playing the finals so soon after the semifinals. Instead, they would bring the excitement from Game 7 into Game 1 of the conference finals despite the quick turnaround.
Winnipeg will also hear from the owner of the Brandon Wheat Kings and current Golden Knights assistant general manager Kelly McCrimmon.
Golden Knights Head coach Gerard Gallant will also be in attendance along with players Deryk Engelland, Marc-Andre Fleury, Jonathan Marchessault and James Neal.
Comments