1. Moose:  The Manitoba Moose won their opening round series two games to one over the Milwaukee Admirals, exercising some old playoff demons from tough losses to Milwaukee in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 Central Division Semifinals.

2. Jets:  I thought Brayden Yager showed pretty well in the 3 games he played with the Jets at the end of the season, and his solid play continued in his first three playoff games as a pro.  I’m sure he has his sights set on making the big club next season, and that could be a big ask for the young centerman, but I like what I am seeing, and I’m pulling for him.   

3.  Moose:  Domenic DiVincentiis was very solid in leading the Moose to both victories over the weekend when they were facing elimination after Thomas Milic dropped the first game to a very opportunistic Milwaukee squad.   

4. Moose:  It looks like the Moose will be rotating the goalies on a win-and-stay-in basis.

5. Moose:  A brilliant effort on the forecheck by David Gustafsson, and then a nice pass leads to the 2-0 goal for the Moose late in the second period to give the team a little breathing room going into the 3rd period, and boy did they need it.

6. Moose:  I was very pleased and surprised with Elias Salomonsson’s level of physicality in the two games he played in the series.  Paired with Isaak Phillips, they made a formidable duo on the back end, and it is no coincidence the Moose won with Salo back in the lineup.

7. Things that make me go hmmm 🤔:  Why is David Gustafsson playing in the AHL?  I’m so on board with the “Gus Bus.”  I don’t get it.

8. Jets:  Based on what I’ve seen so far in the first round of the NHL playoffs, I’m not sure if the Jets could compete physically.

9. Jets:   Everybody was making a big deal about Helle’s garbage bag day interview, but not much has been said about this quote from Scott Arniel.

I’d love to be a 100 mph team, but I have to coach what’s in front of me.

10. Moose:  Brayden Yager and Brad Lambert have developed some interesting chemistry together.

11.  Moose Turds:

• Gus has 3 points in 3 games (1 goal & 2 assists) and all of them huge.
• Nobody stands in front of the Moose net when Terell Bauer is on the ice.
• Domenic DiVincentiis only allowed 1 goal in each win this weekend, along with a .962 sv%.
• Attendance was 4,853 for game 3.

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