Team takes day off after gritty win in Nashville

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This article was published 20/12/2017 (2880 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BOSTON — Captain Blake Wheeler and his Winnipeg Jets teammates got a well-earned day off from practice Wednesday following Tuesday’s sensational victory in Nashville.

The Jets left the ice with a 6-4 win, thanks in large part to Brandon Tanev’s game-winner with less than 90 seconds left in regulation, which capped a thrilling, see-saw battle against the Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

The 20-10-5 Jets continue their three-game pre-Christmas road trip with tonight’s 6 p.m. matchup against the Boston Bruins (TSN 3, TSN 1290).

Wheeler wouldn’t say the Jets played any better in Music City than they had during an action-packed two-game, home-and-home set with the St. Louis Blues last weekend, but beating last year’s Stanley Cup finalists on their turf was an impressive feat nonetheless

“What I will say is they require you to play a pretty good game,” Wheeler said of the Predators. “I think that’s probably the best team we’ve played this year. Their back end is so elusive. A big part of our game is forechecking, and between (goaltender Pekka) Rinne and their back end, it’s just tough to get on pucks.”

Wheeler was encouraged to see his club push back after a brief lapse in the last minute of the first period allowed Nashville to spin a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead.

“We liked our first period, you know,” he said. “It was just a bad bounce there and it snowballed. You can’t lose sight of 19 minutes and 25 seconds of really good hockey. We felt good about it after the first period and just wanted to keep rolling with the understanding that if we won the second period we were giving ourselves a really good opportunity to win the game.”

Getting the offence going against Rinne was a healthy sign.

“It’s tough to score goals in this league, and it’s especially tough to score goals on a team like that,” Wheeler said. “You never feel like you can establish yourself in their zone. They’re tough in front of their net. They require a lot of awareness and a lot of ground to withstand.

“You can certainly see why that game that they play gets you within a game or two of winning the Stanley Cup.”

Lowry, Tanev shine

Linemates Tanev and Adam Lowry had a goal and an assist each against the Predators, but their unit — complete with left-winger Andrew Copp — has evolved into a very good checking line despite drawing some tough defensive assignments.

Head coach Paul Maurice wasn’t surprised that the three are starting to show some offence, too. Lowry is up to six goals on the season, Copp has four and Tanev has three.

“Because they’ve been around the net,” Maurice said. “That’s back-to-back game-winners, right? Because Adam Lowry had the first one the other night (in a 4-0 victory over St. Louis). They’re getting bigger minutes, bigger role… one thing they’ve done all year is they’ve played against other teams’ big lines, and a lot of times they play in the other end.”

Switching it up

Maurice moved left-winger Nikolaj Ehlers up to play with Mark Scheifele and Wheeler on Tuesday, and put Kyle Connor on Bryan Little’s line with Patrik Laine. Ehlers responded with a pair of crucial goals in the second period, his 16th and 17th of the season, and is now tied with Laine for the club lead.

“Sometimes it goes for you,” Maurice said. “I think sometimes Kyle was looking for his linemates, and that’s so natural when you play with two veteran guys like Scheif and Wheeler. And Nikky feels at times he needs to drive that (Little) line all the time, with his speed coming through the neutral zone. In a game like that, that play is not there, so just a little switch. Nikky has had so much time with those (other) two guys, there’s not an adjustment for that line and they played well after that.”

Hometown hero

In his day, Kevin McCarthy was a solid NHL defenceman and one of the finest players produced in Manitoba.

After his 10-year NHL playing career ended in 1987, the 60-year-old St. James product continued to make the game his life. He’s currently in his fourth season on Peter Laviolette’s staff in Nashville and now has the title of associate coach after starting as an assistant.

“When I was a player I loved the game and it was something I always wanted to do, and when the opportunity presented itself for me to get into coaching, it was all hockey,” McCarthy said. “It made sense for me to continue and I’ve been very fortunate in my career to play and coach as long as I have.”

McCarthy, who has worked with Laviolette at previous stops with the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers, has fond memories of growing up in Winnipeg and being a regular at Deer Lodge Community Club during the winter.

“I can remember as a kid every Saturday we’d be on the ice from eight o’clock in the morning ’til dark,” he said. “I also delivered the Winnipeg Free Press, so there were a number of people who weren’t too happy when they got their Saturday paper late.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @sawa14