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WINNIPEG Stephen Hauschka Jersey , Manitoba — The Winnipeg Jets hope to keep feeling the good vibrations of their predecessors from 40 years ago.

Bobby Hull, Anders Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson — the Hot Line — and 12 other members of the 1977-78 WHA Jets are in town for a reunion and they’re cheering like crazy for the new incarnation of the team.

They were glued to the bar television watching the 5-1 Game 7 victory over the Nashville Predators and they’re all going to be at Bell MTS Place when the Jets open their Western Conference final against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night.

Jets coach Paul Maurice was justifiably happy after knocking out the Presidents Trophy winners with three victories in enemy territory.

“The telling stat for me in this series is we played four games in (Nashville) and never lost in regulation. Against the best team in the league,” he told The Winnipeg Sun. “To play well in here as consistently as we did, it’s impressive.”

Not only that, but the Jets chased the favorite for the Vezina Trophy, Pekke Rinne, three times in the series, including in the first period on Thursday after taking a quick 2-0 lead.

“I feel very much responsible for our season ending at this point,” a despondent Rinne told a scrum at his locker stall. “It’s tough to understand. I can’t point to anything. I felt good and I was healthy. This was the biggest moment of the season and to let your teammates down is a terrible feeling.”

The Golden Knights, who won the season series against the Jets this year with two wins in three games Trevon Coley Jersey , have had their skates up for the better part of a week after eliminating the San Jose Sharks in six games. Not even in existence a year ago, they are already the most successful first-year franchise in the history of professional sports.

Just how far they go will depend largely on the pads of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, a three-time Stanley Cup winner with Pittsburgh. He said he relishes the fact that his team has exceeded the expectations of, well, everybody.

“It was maybe a little bit of a shock, but I’m proud of our team, our organization, the way they did things here,” he told a media scrum. “I’m proud to be where we are right now.”

Coach Gerard Gallant told a media conference there’s no doubt his troops deserve to be where they are.

“We’re a good team, we play hard and we played well all season long,” he said. “The two teams we played were very good hockey teams and we were very evenly matched with those teams.”

The ’78 Jets not only steamrolled through their season Sam Martin Jersey , winning the AVCO Cup in four straight games over Gordie Howe and the New England Whalers, they also became the first North American team to defeat the mighty Soviet national team, without a doubt the strongest team in the world at the time, when they won 5-3 on Jan. 5, 1978, at Winnipeg Arena.

Game 2 will be played Monday night.

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers are hoping that a well-rested and inspired rookie pitcher will lead them to success in Sunday’s series finale against the San Francisco Giants.

Left-hander Caleb Ferguson will make his third career start, pitching opposite Giants right-hander Chris Stratton, but it will be his first outing where he will get a minute to catch his breath and ease into his surroundings.

Before his major league debut on June 6, and his follow-up effort Tuesday, Ferguson had to scramble to catch a flight and then take the mound for the Dodgers. This time around, Ferguson has done all of his between-start routine with the major league club Akiem Hicks Jersey , and even got a bonus assignment this week.

Ferguson was able to get an up-close-and-personal look at Clayton Kershaw’s most recent rehab bullpen session. It was a multi-pronged effort to not only let Ferguson watch a pitcher he looks up to, but to get an in-depth view at one of the hardest workers in the game.

“Even for Caleb to sit in on Clayton’s pen (Friday) and to sit in on Rich (Hill’s on Saturday) and not have to fly in make a start then fly out and come back in, he will get to assimilate with our guys,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think there is a benefit to that.”

Ferguson (0-0, 9.53) lasted just 1 2/3 innings of his debut at Pittsburgh and then went four innings Tuesday against the Rangers. He has given up a combined six runs, but the Dodgers offense has scored a combined 21 runs in his two outings so at least he is getting elite run support.

Stratton (7-4, 4.56) has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last four starts, but he is facing a Dodgers lineup that has hit 34 home runs in June alone. The right-hander will have to face a trio of left-handed hitters in Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson who have been productive of late.

He figures to be up for the challenge after guiding the Giants to a 10-4 record in his starts this season. In his outing Tuesday at Miami, Stratton was just the second Giants pitcher since May 6 to last at least seven innings, but he still took the loss in a 3-1 defeat. It was his sixth quality start of the season.

The Giants are currently 3-6 on a three-city road trip that ends Sunday. And while a return home is ahead Pernell McPhee Jersey , better health could be coming soon, although third baseman Evan Longoria figures to be out at least a month with a fractured left hand.

First baseman Brandon Belt was activated Saturday, while pitchers Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija could be back soon.

“Our biggest issue has been trying to stay healthy,” manager Bruce Bochy said, according to mlb.com.

Madison Bumgarner made his third start since coming off the disabled list Saturday and allowed three runs on five hits in six innings of a 3-1 loss. It marked the 11th straight time in Los Angeles the Giants scored two runs or less, according to STATS Inc.

Matt Kemp and Enrique Hernandez homered for the Dodgers — who will go for the series sweep on Sunday — while Alex Wood allowed a run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings.
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