This was a marquee matchup between two division-leading teams in what some were calling a potential Stanley Cup Final preview. The real question coming in was whether the Bolts would continue the strong play they showed last game, in their dominating 5-1 performance against a struggling Senators team, against a playoff-caliber Jets squad.
It took less than two minutes for the Bolts to find the back of the net behind Connor Hellebuyck, as Yanni Gourde scored off a feed from Ondrej Palat at the 1:34 mark into the first period.