The best-of-seven series moves to hostile territory – can the Ducks steal a win?
Ladies and gentlemen, friends and acquaintances: things are about to get interesting.
The Anaheim Ducks, everyone’s favorite pick to choke during these Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Winnipeg Jets, the trendy upset pick, are headed to the MTS Centre for Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round series tonight.
So far, this series has played out exactly as everyone predicted – hard hits, bodies on the ice, close games decided late in the third period – with one exception: the Ducks have managed to quiet their naysayers, using late game comebacks in each contest to go up 2-0 on the Jets.
#StanleyCup Playoffs Update
— NHL (@NHL) April 19, 2015
6 series tied 1-1
2 teams lead 2-0:@CanadiensMTL @AnaheimDucks
I’ll go out on a limb here and say that there are not too many people who predicted that the Ducks would be sitting so pretty against the Jets . . . but 2-0 is fine and dandy, this series is truly just getting started.
Winnipeg’s home record may not look like much (23-13-5, okay but nowhere near as impressive as Tampa Bay’s home mark of 32-8-1), and it’s not like Anaheim is intimidated: the Ducks have already won twice at the MTS Centre this season.
Still: the city of Winnipeg has not hosted a playoff game in 19 years. The regular season is one thing; the crowd at the MT Centre is going to be deafening tonight, and the Jets are going to feed off of the that – right, Drew Stafford?
"I think it’s going to make a huge difference. We can feed off that energy and use it to our advantage."
Yeah, yeah – that’s what they all say. Still, I imagine that there are a good number of players in the Jets’ locker room who feel that their team should at least be tied 1-all, if not up 2-0 themselves. The Ducks will have their hands full, as they will have to fend off both the raucous crowd and a team that is looking to prove that it belongs in the big dance.
Tonight’s game begins at 9/6p and will be broadcast on the NBC Sports Network. Enjoy dinner and the Anaheim Ducks – can’t think of a better combination!
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