The good news for the Winnipeg Jets is that they were able to secure a single point Tuesday night thanks to a 4-3 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators.
The problem is, the Predators are ahead of the Jets in the standings and as a result were able to make up more ground than Winnipeg in the wild card race.
The Predators scored the go-ahead goal with six minutes left to break a 2-2 deadlock before Jonathan Toews tied the game with the goalie pulled with just a minute to go, but the Jets were stopped on all three attempts in the shootout to end their brief two-game win streak in the finale to the eight-game homestand.
“It was a big game,” said Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi. “It’s frustrating. We had a lot of good opportunities to score, but we lost.”
In their third game in just four days, the Jets had a ton of scoring chances and controlled the play for much of the contest. They outshot the Predators in all three periods and in overtime as the shots finished 39-23.
“We had 70-80 shot attempts,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “Their goaltender was outstanding. I mean, that second period, some he saw, some he didn’t see, some we hit a couple crossbars and posts, and missed the net a few times. We had tons of opportunities and (Juuse) Saros made some big stops.”
The Jets now have just a 1-3 record in shootout games this season.
Toews, Vilardi, and Josh Morrissey had the markers for the Jets, while Kyle Connor registered three assists.
Toews’ third period goal ended a 20-game goalless drought.
“It’s nice to score in a situation like that,” said Toews. “I think going down the stretch you’re gonna be in some tight games. So, it’s nice to have some confidence when you go out there and whether it’s a power play or six-man unit to score one late and get back in the game like that.”
The game was played with only referee due to travel issues.
“I just told our team just before the game that look it, it’s gonna be a three-man referee situation,” Arniel said. “Let’s not get all bent out of shape if a call gets missed or anything happens.”
The single point leaves the Jets four points out of the final playoff spot pending the outcome of a late game between Seattle and Tampa Bay.
The Jets were attempting to sweep the season series with the Predators for the first time since moving to Winnipeg after winning their first two meetings.
Not much happened for the first eleven minutes or so, with just four shots on goal and an almost eight-minute stretch without a whistle.
Nashville earned the game’s first power play at the 11:14 mark when Dylan DeMelo took a tripping penalty, and they eventually made the Jets pay.
The Predators didn’t have a lot going on the power play but just seconds before DeMelo was to step out of the box, Roman Josi sent a wrist shot on net from the point that deflected off Erik Haula and past Connor Hellebuyck to open the scoring.
Winnipeg failed on its first power play look a few minutes later, but in the final minute of the period, they leveled the playing field.
Morrissey started the play by dumping the puck into the Nashville zone from just outside the left point. The puck rimmed around the boards to the right wing where Brady Skjei wasn’t able to handle it, allowing Connor to poke it down low for Vilardi.
Vilardi collected the puck and noticed Morrissey wide-open in the slot, so he fed the star defenceman who was able to beat Saros glove-side for his 12th goal of the season with 40 seconds remaining in the first.
The Jets outshot the Predators 14-7 in the first thanks to a late flurry of shots. The margin was 11-0 over the final six minutes of the period.
Nashville took their second minor penalty of the night 4:59 into the middle frame and it took the Jets all of ten seconds to capitalize.
After Winnipeg won the ensuing faceoff, Connor carried the puck below the goal line and centred it for Cole Perfetti in front of the net. Perfetti wasn’t able to get much of a shot off, but the puck rolled to Vilardi at the other side of the crease where he was able to put it into a fairly open net for his 26th of the season at the 5:09 mark.
The Jets continued to dominate play, outshooting the Preds and controlling the puck for most of the first half of the second period but Nashville was able to even the score at the 10:48 mark.
They broke the puck up the ice from below their goal line, with Matthew Wood sending it to Ryan Ufko at their blue line before Ufko rifled a long pass to Jonathan Marchessault in the neutral zone. He carried it slowly into the Winnipeg zone and delayed before dropping a pass to his left that Filip Forsberg one-timed from a tough angle and beat Hellebuyck high to make it 2-2.
Winnipeg got one more look on the power play before the period expired but did nothing with it as the scored stayed 2-2 heading to the third. The Jets outshot Nashville 11-8 in the second.
The Jets were also handed the first power play of the third period and while it was more productive than their look late in the second, it still failed to produce a goal.
Neither team generated a ton of dangerous looks before Nashville regained the lead with just under six minutes to go.
The play began innocuously with Forsberg floating the puck down the ice. Morrissey mishandled it at his own blueline as he backpedaled into his own zone, giving Marchessault a chance to take it away and drop it to Matthew Wood. Wood skated deep into the Jets’ end before chipping a shot over the shoulder of Hellebuyck.
Hellebuyck went to the bench for an extra attacker with 1:38 left on the clock and with 1:01 to go, Toews had his biggest moment as a Jet.
Steven Stamkos had his stick break during a puck battle and quickly went to the Nashville bench to get a new one. As that happened, the Jets cycled the puck to the other side of the ice with Toews sending it to Mark Scheifele who walked in and fired a shot that was stopped by Saros.
But off the ensuing scramble, the puck came to Scheifele in the corner. He corralled it before passing it to Toews for a one-timer from the faceoff dot that beat Saros to tie the game.
It was Toews’ first goal since Jan. 15, the final game of a four-game goal streak he had going at the time.
The teams took turns with possession in overtime but neither team could solve the puzzle, leading to a shootout.
Vilardi was denied on Winnipeg’s first attempt before Ryan O’Reilly scored for Nashville.
Both Scheifele and Forsberg missed, putting all the pressure on Connor who rang his shot off the post to end the game.
Saros was excellent in net for the Predators, stopping 36 of 39 shots while Hellebuyck turned aside 20 of 23 in defeat.
The Jets finish this season-long eight-game homestand with a 5-2-1 record and will now embark on a three-game road trip that begins in Boston on Thursday. Pregame coverage on 680 CJOB will begin just after 4 p.m. with the puck dropping shortly after 6 p.m.
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