Predators Wrap Up Road Trip With 5-2 Loss to Jets

Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi snapped their respective goal scoring droughts, but several missed opportunities and a pair of injuries proved costly for the Nashville Predators as they fell 5-2 to Winnipeg Jets Tuesday at Canada Life Centre.

Special teams once again proved to be a difference maker for Nashville, who went 1-8 on the power play and 0-1 on the penalty kill. Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves to earn his 300th career NHL win, while Predators goaltender Juuse Saros made 26 saves in the loss.

With the loss, the Predators wrapped up their road trip with a 2-4-0 record and moved to 13-21-7 on the season.

How the Predators lined up vs. Winnipeg

Forsberg-Stamkos-Marchessault
Nyquist-O’Reilly-Hinostroza
Novak-Svechkov-Evangelista
Jankowski-McCarron-Sissons

Josi-Barron
Skjei-Blankenburg
Stastney-Schenn

Saros
Annunen

Extra: L’Heureux (susp.)

IR: Smith, Wilsby, Lauzon

Forward Tommy Novak returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games with an upper-body injury. Forward Zachary L’Heureux was out of the lineup, serving the third and final game of his suspension for slew-footing Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon Dec. 31.

Forward Cole Smith and defensemen Jeremy Lauzon and Adam Wilsby remain on IR.

Game Summary

The Predators cycled the puck through the offensive zone early, putting four shots on goal before the Jets registered one. However, Nashville was unable to capitalize, and Winnipeg took advantage.

Jets forward Morgan Barron, brother of Predators defenseman Justin Barron, was credited with Winnipeg’s first goal at the 6:30 mark of the first period. It was really an own goal by Predators defenseman Nick Blankenburg, who knocked the puck into the net in a failed attempt to clear it up the ice after a big save from Saros.

Just 16 seconds later, Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey scored on a slap shot from the blue line that beat Saros high on his glove side to extend Winnipeg’s lead to 2-0.

Predators forward Luke Evangelista left the game late in the first period after a hit from Jets defenseman Neal Pionk sent him awkwardly into the boards. He was able to skate to the bench but then headed for the locker room, unable to put any weight on his right leg.

Kyle Connor added a third goal for the Jets shortly after in the final minutes of the first period, scoring on a wide open shot up the middle to give Winnipeg a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Forsberg got the Predators on the board on the power play at 16:45 of the second period. With Pionk in the box for his second penalty of the period, Forsberg fired a wrist shot by Hellebuyck to cut the Jets’ lead to 3-1.

The Predators managed to stay out of the box until the third period, when Vinnie Hinostroza was whistled for tripping against Rasmus Kupari at the 2:43 mark. That penalty was offset by Kupari’s four-minute double minor for high-sticking against Colton Sissons, giving the Predators a two-minute power play, but Nashville was unable to capitalize.

Five minutes later, Justin Barron landed in the box for holding against David Gustafsson; and this time, the Jets made Nashville pay. It took just nine seconds on the man advantage for Nikolaj Ehlers to find Gabe Vilardi in front of the net, extending Winnipeg’s lead to 4-1.

The Predators got one back less than two minutes later, however, when Josi’s shot from the point deflected off the skate of Winnipeg’s Logan Stanley and into the net to cut the deficit to 4-2.

The Jets got into some penalty trouble late in the third, with Stanley’s high-sticking double minor against Jonathan Marchessault and Connor’s subsequent hooking against Forsberg resulting in 1:26 of a 5-on-3 advantage for Nashville. However, Hellebuyck and the Jets’ penalty killers kept the Predators from scoring on the power play, and Nino Niederreiter scored into the empty net at 17:55 for the 5-2 final.

Key Takeaways & Notes

Evangelista briefly returned to the game late in the second period, but the Predators announced at the start of the third that he had been ruled out for the remainder of the contest with the lower-body injury.
The Predators were without one of their top power play weapons for the second half of the game, as Steven Stamkos left for the locker room midway through the second period and did not return. Fedor Svechkov was taking shifts in his place on the top line with Forsberg and Marchessault, while Gustav Nyquist replaced Stamkos on the top power play unit.
Forsberg’s goal in the second period snapped the longest goal scoring drought of his career
With an assist on Forsberg’s goal, Marchessault now has 17 points (9 goals, 8 assists) in his last 13 games.

Up Next

The Predators return home to begin a four-game homestand with a Saturday night tilt against the Washington Capitals at Bridgestone Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast regionally on FanDuel Sports Network South and on ESPN+ for out-of-market customers in the United States.

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