We’ve got a Game 7 in the NHL playoffs tonight. The Nashville Predators will host the Winnipeg Jets tonight after the Predators where able to force a Game 7 with a 4-0 Game 6 victory in Winnipeg on Monday.
This is the only 2nd round series still playing. Tonight’s winner will move on to face the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference finals. In the Eastern Conference the Tampa Bay Lighting will host the Washington Capitals Sunday night in the opener of that series.
Home ice hasn’t meant much in the Predators/Jets series as both teams have won the others ice multiple times in this series.
Nashville was the President’s trophy winner with 117 points this season, but Winnipeg was the next closet team to them with 114 points.
Nashville has is being led in scoring this post season by Filip Forsberg with 15 points. Mark Scheifele has been the Jets leading scorer so far this post season with 14 points. The Predators rely on Pekka Rinne in goal, but back up goaltender Juuse Saros has appeared in 3 games this post season. Rinne has a Goals Against Average of 2.94 this post season, but his record is just 7-5. Rinne does have 2 shutouts in 12 post season games including Game 6 in Winnipeg. Connor Hellebuyck has manned the net for the Jets this post season. Winnipeg’s back up Steve Mason has made 1 post season appearance. Hellebuyck has a Goals Against Average of 2.36 with a record of 7-4. Hellebuyck has posted 1 shutout this post season.
The Predators where last years Cinderella story making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals before coming up short to the eventual champions the Pittsburgh Penguins. Winnipeg didn’t even get into the playoffs last season. The series has lived up to the hype, but one of these teams has to go home.
The puck should drop for Game 7 in the Bridgestone Arena about 7:00 p.m. Who do you have winning tonight; Nashville or Winnipeg?
For the second time in baseball history a pitcher born in Canada threw a no-hitter and it just so happened that the game was being played in Canada.
Seattle Mariners left hander James Paxton, who’s nickname is Big Maple no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays last night as the Mariners won the game 5-0. Paxton is from Ladner, British Columbia.
Paxton struck out 7, walked 3 and threw just 99 pitches in his no-hitter. Josh Donaldson made the final out hitting a hard ground ball that Mariners 3rd baseman Kyle Seager cut off, throwing Donaldson out at 1st to seal the no-hitter.
With 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th inning Seager made the defensive play of the game that really saved the no-hitter. Kevin Pillar hit a down the 3rd base line that looked like it had a chance to get down into the leftfield corner. Seager made a full out dive to snag the baseball. Seager made a bit of an off balance throw to first base, but Ryon Healy was able to pick the throw on one hop and record the out.
Russell Martin did lead off the bottom of the 8th inning for the Blue Jays with a long drive to leftfield, but Ben Gamel easily made the catch near he wall for the 1st out of the inning.
Those where really the two closest times that the Blue Jays came close to getting a hit. Paxson was rolling along most of the night and in the 9th inning he got top prospect Anthony Alford to foul out for the 1st out of the inning. Teoscar Hernandez has been one of the hotter players in the Blue Jays line up, but Paxson struck him out for the 2nd out of the 9th inning. That led to the Donaldson ground out that Seager snagged to end the game.
Paxson’s no-hitter was the 6th in Mariners history. The last Seattle no-hitter was on August 12th 2015 when Hisashi Iwakuma threw one against the Baltimore Orioles. ‘The King” Felix Hernandez has the only perfect game in Mariners history. Hernandez threw that on August 15th 2012 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Can you name the other Canadian born pitcher to throw a no-hitter?
If you said Dick Fowler you where correct. Fowler no-hit the St. Louis Browns on September 9th 1945. This was actually Fowler first start of that season. Fowler had been serving in the Canadian military during World War II and had just recently returned to the Philadelphia Athletics.
Fowler spent his entire 10-year career with the Athletics. He did miss all of the 1943 and 1944 season because of his military service. Fowler pitched in 221 career games with 170 of them being starts. Fowler went 66-79 with 4 saves. His career ERA was 4.11.
The Western Conference finals in the NBA where set last night. The Houston Rockets advanced by beating the Utah Jazz 112-102 and winning that series 4 games to 1. The Golden State Warriors moved on with a 113-105 win over the New Orleans Pelicans winning that series 4 games to 1. The Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Toronto Raptors out of the playoffs to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. Cleveland is waiting to see who’ll they’ll be playing and might find out tonight.
The Boston Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers I Game 5 of their 2nd round series tonight. Boston is ahead 3 games to 1; so if they get a win tonight they’ll be the team that moves on to face the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals. If the 76ers get a win tonight the series will head back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Friday night.
With the Western Conference 2nd round wrapped up the Rockets and the Warriors will get some time off. The Western Conference finals don’t start until Monday May 14th in Houston.
Most people believe that the Rockets and the Warriors are the two best teams in the NBA and that the winner of this series will be the eventual NBA champions. Are you in this camp? Do you believe that whoever wins this series will win the championship or do you believe that which ever teams coms out of the Eastern Conference has a chance.
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