St. Louis and Winnipeg are gearing up for their fourth and final clash at Canada Life Centre for the 2024-25 season. Inside The Rink’s own Conrad Jack gears you up for game seven with his gameday thoughts.
Protect the Guts of the Ice
All four thoughts are recurring, and for the right reasons. The need to protect the guts of the ice, mainly shutting down the opportunities for St. Louis to walk into the slot and get a clean shot that leads to a goal.
Game six saw three of five goals scored by the Blues, where they circled the puck to the point and gave the puck carrier too much time and space to let the eventual goalscorer get into the slot with speed.
Another goal was scored with a man not covered in front of the net, and that is yet another big issue that will be what the Blues look to build upon if they want to take game seven.
Should the Jets want to take a big piece of the puzzle out of the Stanley Cup Playoff equation, they’re going to want to clean up their inability to protect the guts of the ice at crucial times.
Clear the Front of the Net
Clearing traffic in front of the net is another big issue the Winnipeg Jets faced in game six, and it’s something they need to improve on.
Nathan Walker played a key part in getting in front of the net, and he scored a big go-ahead goal to win the game for the Blues.
If the Jets can effectively execute this like they did all season long and through their first three home playoff games and block more shots, game seven should fall in their favour.
Secondary Scoring
Secondary scoring hasn’t been an issue in the past two games, but it surely has to emerge in a big way tonight to help secure a strong team effort victory.
Cole Perfetti and Nino Niederreiter getting power-play goals in the last game took this off the list of things I wanted to mention, but the team is without their top centre in Mark Scheifele, a player who’s been huge for the power play and for the Jets’ scoring efforts.
Game seven is win or go home, it’s going to take a complete team effort to win the game tonight and scoring from the top players all the way to the fourth line players is a must.
Feed Off the Whiteout
Getting home ice advantage throughout the playoffs might be the make-or-break factor for the Winnipeg Jets, and their first game seven at home in Winnipeg Jets 2.0 history is a big marker experience-wise.
The 200th game seven in NHL history is going to be interesting when both teams are undefeated at home. With the Winnipeg whiteout crowd ready to lay it all in the stands, in Whiteout Way, and in the Party in the Plaza as the Winnipeg Jets hunt their first NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs series win since 2020-21.
ITR 39: Conference Finals – Inside The Rink
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