That the NHL’s two best teams during the regular season are going to a Game 7 on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville Landon Collins Jersey Youth , Tenn., isn’t a big surprise.

That the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators have mirrored each other statistically in several key areas speaks to how equal — and good — they are and were in combining for 231 regular season points.

In their Western Conference semifinal, they have each attempted 338 shots and put 177 shots on net during 5-on-5 play, per Natural Stat Trick. Nashville has a 12-11 edge in 5-on-5 goals, while Winnipeg owns a 66-65 advantage in high-danger chances.

The teams have also alternated wins, with the Jets taking the odd-numbered games. Both are 2-1 on the road in the series, so one could say that the Predators have home-ice disadvantage for a win-or-die showdown.

But there is one big factor in Nashville’s favor — Game 7 experience. Its roster has a combined 45 games of Game 7 experience, as opposed to Winnipeg’s 12. Only seven Jets have ever played in a Game 7, none with this franchise.

It is Winnipeg’s first Game 7 since the franchise moved from Atlanta following the 2010-11 season Cheap Lorenzo Carter Jersey , and the Predators’ third in franchise history. It’s also the first Game 7 Nashville has ever played at home.

“I would expect that the way we play matters the most,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’re certainly glad to be back in our building with our fans, they’ve been incredible all year long, but we really need to focus on the game. Just make sure we’re ready to play the game and do the right things on the ice.”

Nashville certainly did all the right things in Game 6, other than take three first period penalties. But its penalty-killing and Pekka Rinne’s play in net were matchless as it captured a 4-0 win, preventing the Jets from reaching a conference final for the first time.

Rinne bagged 34 saves for his fifth career postseason shutout, while Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg each scored two goals. Forsberg made the highlight clips with his second goal, a between-his-legs wrister at point-blank range early in the third period that essentially ended the game’s competitive phase.

Winnipeg vows it won’t do anything different in preparation for the biggest game in franchise history.

“There’s no big speech or departure from our game,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said following practice Wednesday. “The important one that was delivered all year is to enjoy what we do. Have the confidence that you’re going to go out and perform at your best. You can’t be on pins and needles.”

Winnipeg has outscored the Predators 22-18 in the series and seems to be the healthier team going into Game 7. While the Jets should be able to ice their regular lineup Cheap Mike McGlinchey Jersey , Nashville might have to play without center Mike Fisher, who left Game 6 in the first period because of an undisclosed injury and never returned. Fisher didn’t practice on Wednesday.

The series survivor will host Vegas in Game 1 of the conference finals on Saturday night.

鈥?Houston quarterback Tom Savage was cleared to re-enter Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers for one series after sustaining a concussion, raising questions about the NFL’s procedure for evaluating such injuries during games.Savage was injured with about nine minutes remaining in the second quarter of Houston’s 26-16 loss when he was driven to the ground on a hit by Elvis Dumervil. Replays showed Savage looking dazed after his head hit the ground with both of his arms shaking and lifted upward .He was taken to the medical tent where he stayed for less than three minutes before returning to the bench and going back in for the next series. He threw two incompletions on that drive, and Houston’s team doctor approached him after he returned to the sideline after that possession.Savage tried repeatedly to enter the game on the next series. But a team official kept grabbing Savage’s jersey and finally his arm and pulled him away from the field. He could be seen arguing with that person and the team’s trainer before being escorted to the locker room.Coach Bill O’Brien said he was evaluated for a concussion after the hit and cleared to return, but that he was evaluated again after he returned because “because of what they saw,” without providing details of what that was.“They try to make the best decision for the player,” O’Brien said. “Whatever they see and the testing that they do they try to make the best decision with the player and they weren’t satisfied with the results of the second test so they decided to pull him, and that’s when he went into the locker room.”O’Brien was then asked if it was worrisome that Savage was allowed to return to the game when he had a concussion.“I don’t direct that. I don’t direct that at all,” he said. “They just come to me and that’s kind of where that’s at. I don’t have anything to do with that. All I do is coach.”Several of Savage’s teammates said they didn’t notice anything different about him on the drive after he was injured Authentic Arden Key Jersey , and T.J. Yates, who took over for him, said the same thing.“When he got back to the sideline he seemed fine and coherent,” Yates said.Savage and Yates are the only quarterbacks on Houston’s roster, so they’ll have to sign someone this week to back up Yates if Savage is unable to play on Sunday.His injury is the latest setback for a team that has had more than its share of problems this year. Houston lost linebacker Brian Cushing for 10 games because of a suspension for performance enhancers. Defensive stars J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus both sustained season-ending injuries in Week 5.Rookie Deshaun Watson took over at halftime of Houston’s season-opener after Savage struggled and made the offense one of the NFL’s most potent in six starts, but he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in practice on Nov. 2. The team suffered another blow on Nov. 19 when rookie running back D’Onta Foreman ruptured his left Achilles tendon.The Texans (4-9) have gone 1-5 since Watson was injured to drop out of playoff contention after winning the AFC South title in each of the last two seasons.“I’ve never been part of a team like this with this many injuries,” receiver DeAndre Hopkins said. “I mean, guys the go out back-to-back, so it’s not something I don’t think anyone in this locker room has dealt with before.”Hopkins had 149 yards receiving and two touchdowns Francisco Lindor Jersey , but lost a fumble in the fourth quarter with the Texans down by 7. San Francisco added 41-yard field goal after that to secure the victory.Yates, who was signed after Watson was injured, threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns in his first game since Nov. 16, 2015.“He went into a tough spot and I thought he did some really good things,” O’Brien said. “The ball came out. Thought we really struggled to run the ball today. We could not run the ball and that really hurt us. I thought T.J. made some really nice plays.”.