Jets overcome injuries on defense, eliminate Wild in five games

WINNIPEG -- The Western Conference First Round series between the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild was one of attrition.
Winnipeg's 5-0 victory in Game 5 at Bell MTS Place on Friday not only clinched the best-of-7 series 4-1, it also illustrated which team was more equipped to overcome injuries.
Before the Stanley Cup Playoffs began, the Wild lost defenseman Ryan Suter with a fractured ankle on March 31. They then had to do without forward Zach Parise, who fractured his sternum late in Game 3 and couldn't return to the series.

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With Parise and Suter out, the Wild didn't score a goal in the final two games.
It was too much to overcome.
The Jets entered the series without defensemen Toby Enstrom (lower body) and Dmitry Kulikov (back), then lost forward Mathieu Perreault to an upper-body injury in Game 1 and defenseman Tyler Myers in Game 3 with an upper-body injury.
In Game 4, defenseman Josh Morrissey cross-checked Wild forward Eric Staal in the neck and was suspended for Game 5, so the Jets were also reaching deep into their roster to fill the gaps.

Why didn't it faze them?
One reason was they've been dealing with adversity all season; the Jets had 282 man-games lost to injury through the 82-game regular season.
Myers was able to return for Game 5, but the Jets also played defensemen Ben Chiarot, Joe Morrow (who had the game-winning goal in Game 1) and Tucker Poolman.

In shutting out the Wild for the second consecutive game, Winnipeg didn't give up a goal in the final seven periods of the series.
"We've shown it all year, that we had to deal with guys banged up the entire season," said Myers, who played 22:49 in Game 5. "We've had to tap into the depth of our lineup a lot of different times. I think all the guys have stepped up really well whenever those times have come up and if they come up again, it's adversity we're comfortable working through.
"We've established there's a certain level we have to play on every night, (it) doesn't matter who we're playing against. We know what speed we have to get to be successful and it doesn't matter if we have guys out or have a full lineup, it's getting to that speed no matter what."

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who was pulled after two periods and six goals allowed in a 6-2 loss in Game 3, responded with back-to-back shutouts.
He said the Jets' comfort with the plug-and-play theme they've had to deal with this season has been crucial.
"I think we have a great system," said Hellebuyck, who made 30 saves Friday. "I think guys understand their role and the leaders in this group show the way. The young guys that come in or the guys that don't play a lot come in and they're doing a fantastic job and they're just following suit. I thought the team was great in front of me. The guys' details are fantastic."
In winning all three home games of the series, the Jets extended their winning streak at Bell MTS Place to 12 games. Chiarot believes it's depth that is the key to sustaining that kind of momentum.

"Our situation here, we lose a guy like (Morrissey) who plays such important minutes for us, and we still pitch a shutout," said Chiarot, who played 18:54 in Game 5. "I'm definitely impressed with the amount of depth we have, especially on the back end. I think that's what you see with a lot of successful teams. All year, we've had guys fill in and do a great job. The guys who come up from (Manitoba of the American Hockey League) do a great job."
He pointed to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, as the prime example of value in depth.
"You hear it every year in the playoffs, that especially to be successful in the playoffs you have to have eight or nine NHL defensemen on your team to be successful," Chiarot said. "(Pittsburgh) had a ton of NHL defensemen that have played a long time and guys sitting out that have played a long time. So it's just one of the ingredients of a successful team, having a lot of guys that can play."
They Jets erased the possibility of a letdown with a four-goal siege that had them ahead 4-0 by 11:59 of the first period.
"We had a lot of motivation coming into tonight," Myers said. "We had a chance to win the franchise's first playoff series (the Atlanta Thrashers/Jets franchise had previously been to the playoffs twice and never won a game), and that was a lot of motivation for us and we came out exactly the way we needed to."