Predators, Jets vie for Western Conference Final berth in Game 7

NEW YORK -- The Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets will vie for the lone remaining berth in the Conference Finals of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs when they contest Game 7 of their Second Round series Thursday in Nashville (8 p.m., ET, NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
The winner of Thursday's showdown will advance to the Western Conference Final and face the Pacific Division's regular-season and playoff champion Vegas Golden Knights.

For the 10th consecutive year, the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs will conclude with a Game 7. The eventual Stanley Cup champion has won at least one Game 7 in each of the past five years.
The Predators will play host to a seventh and deciding game at Bridgestone Arena for the first time, with each of their other two such contests coming on the road in 2016. They defeated Anaheim 2-1 in the First Round and lost 5-0 at San Jose in the Second Round.
The Jets are set to play in their first Game 7 in franchise history, becoming the 29th active NHL franchise to do so (and first to make their debut since Nashville in 2016). Fourteen clubs have won their first such appearance, including 10 road victories.
The original Jets franchise played in two Game 7s, dropping a 4-1 decision at Edmonton in the 1990 Smythe Division Semifinals and losing 5-0 at Vancouver in the same round in 1992.
Head coaches Peter Laviolette of the Predators and Paul Maurice of the Jets boast a combined .778 winning percentage in Game 7s (Laviolette 5-2, Maurice 2-0). Laviolette is one of four NHL coaches who has won a Game 7 in each of the four different playoff rounds, along with Pat Burns, Mike Keenan and John Tortorella.

Tale of the Tape

STATS, NSH, WPG
Reg. Season Points/NHL Rank, 117/1st, 114/2nd
Goals (this series), 18, 22
Shots on Goal (this series), 217, 213
Even-Strength Shot Attempts (this series), 338, 338
Blocked Shots (this series), 97, 97
Hits (this series), 144, 141
Save Percentage (this series), .910, .921
Face-Off Win Pct. (this series), 52.0%, 48.0%
Pct. of Time Leading (this series), 40.0%, 31.4%
Pct. of Time Leading (at Nashville), 15.6%, 52.5%

Game 7 Trends

Of the 170 all-time Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
* The team that scores first is 126-44 (.741), including 0-1 in 2018.
* Home teams own a 100-70 (.588) advantage, including a 1-0 record in 2018.
* Forty-one have required overtime (24.2%). Home teams have a 21-20 edge.

Individual Game 7 Statistics

Nashville, GP, W-L, G, A, Pts.
Viktor Arvidsson, 2, 1-1, 0, 1, 1
Anthony Bitetto, 2, 1-1, 0, 0, 0
Nick Bonino, 5, 3-2, 0, 1, 1
Mattias Ekholm, 2, 1-1, 0, 0, 0
Ryan Ellis, 2, 1-1, 0, 0, 0
Alexei Emelin, 1, 1-0, 0, 0, 0
Mike Fisher, 4, 1-3, 0, 0, 0
Filip Forsberg, 2, 1-1, 0, 0, 0
Scott Hartnell, 4, 3-1, 1, 1, 2
Matt Irwin, 2, 0-2, 1, 0, 1
Calle Jarnkrok, 2, 1-1, 0, 0, 0
Ryan Johansen, 2, 1-1, 0, 0, 0
Roman Josi, 2, 1-1, 0, 0, 0
Miikka Salomaki, 2, 1-1, 0, 0, 0
Colton Sissons, 2, 1-1, 0, 0, 0
Craig Smith, 2, 1-1, 0, 0, 0
P.K. Subban, 4, 3-1, 1, 1, 2
Kyle Turris, 2, 0-2, 0, 1, 1
Yannick Weber, 1, 0-1, 1, 0, 1
Winnipeg, GP, W-L, G, A, Pts.
Matt Hendricks, 3, 1-2, 1, 0, 1
Dmitry Kulikov, 1, 0-1, 0, 0, 0
Shawn Matthias, 1, 0-1, 0, 0, 0
Tyler Myers, 1, 0-1, 1, 1, 2
Mathieu Perreault, 2, 0-2, 0, 0, 0
Paul Stastny, 3, 2-1, 2, 3, 5
Blake Wheeler, 1, 0-1, 0, 0, 0

GP, Mins, W-L, GAA, SO, Sv%

Pekka Rinne, 2, 103, 1-1, 3.50, 0, .905
Date, Score, Dec., Shots
5/12/16, NSH 0 at SJS 5, Loss, 26
4/27/16, NSH 2 at ANA 1, Win, 37

GP, Mins, W-L, GAA, SO, Sv%

Steve Mason, 1, 59, 0-1, 2.04, 0, .939
Date, Score, Dec., Shots
4/30/14, PHI 1 at NYR 2, Loss, 33

Team Game 7 Results

Nashville Predators (1-1)
5/12/16, Western Conference Second Round vs. San Jose (NSH 0 at SJS 5)
4/27/16, Western Conference First Round vs. Anaheim (NSH 2 at ANA 1)
Winnipeg Jets (0-0)