Jets charge falls short By: Ken Wiebe Posted: 10:38 PM CST Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023

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This article was published 26/11/2023 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NASHVILLE – Welcome to the land of missed opportunities, where an inability to cash in early can provide a level of frustration for one side and an obvious boost to the other.

As the Winnipeg Jets tried to keep the train rolling to wrap up a three-game road trip on Sunday night, they ran into a road block by the name of Juuse Saros.

A notoriously slow starter, Saros is back to showing why he’s been under consideration for the Vezina Trophy as one of the best goalies in the NHL. He was sharp in the early going when his team was not, allowing the Predators to keep their legs going. The home team also caught a break when Jets sniper Kyle Connor had a shot sail over the net on a glorious chance set up by Nikolaj Ehlers.

“Give Saros a lot of credit, we came out of the gate hard,” said Jets coach Rick Bowness. “Just great for 14 minutes. I thought the last six minutes of that period we started turning the pucks over when there was no need to turn pucks over inside their blue-line. And then they got their game going.”

After a mostly evenly played opening period, the Predators scored in the final minute of the first period and at 1:26 of the second to take control and eventually hang on for a 3-2 victory at Bridgestone Arena.

“We had our chances and could have won that game easily,” said Bowness.

The loss snaps the Jets five-game winning streak and moves them to 12-6-2 on the season as they head home to face the Dallas Stars in a clash of Central Division titans on Tuesday. Nashville improves to 10-10-0 after winning for a fifth straight outing.

THE COMEBACK – After falling behind 3-0, the Jets made a strong push in the third period, scoring twice to make things interesting. Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey got things started, converting a fortuitous bounce. Morrissey was actually trying to get the puck over on an odd-man rush, but it was intercepted by Predators D-man Ryan McDonagh. But Morrissey found the loose puck in front and slipped it in for his fourth goal of the season.

“I think a lot of the things we did in the first 10 minutes of the game and then in the last 10 or 12 or whatever it was there was more to our identity,” said Morrissey. “They play well at home and we kind of fed into their game with some turnovers, but it was nice to see some pushback for sure.”

Cole Perfetti would add a power play marker six seconds into a tripping minor to Spencer Stastney, setting the scene for a dramatic finish. However, that’s as close as they would get.

“I thought we played pretty good out of the gates and had a good push at the end,” said Perfetti. “In the middle, in between there, we didn’t play great. They capitalized on a couple of their chances. Saros is a good goalie, he made some big saves. We got some good looks, the puck didn’t want to go early. We knew it was going to be a greasy one to break the seal.

“He’s a top goalie, so you’ve got to tip your cap sometimes. We created lots and that’s all you can ask. The puck is not going to go in every single time.”

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JOSI DOING JOSI THINGS – As good as Saros was between the pipes, Predators captain Roman Josi had his fingerprints all over this one as well. His perfect low shot off the left pad created a perfect rebound chance for Yakov Trenin to deposit with 18.9 seconds to go in the first period, then Josi snuck a sharp-angle shot from the left-wing boards past Laurent Brossoit early in the second period to make it 2-0. The goal was a bit of a deflator for the Jets.

“It’s one of those goals,” said Bowness. “He probably wants to have it back.”

Josi added to his point collection on the power play, chipping in another helper as Filip Forsberg found Gustav Nyquist on the backdoor with a seam pass for a perfect redirection to make it 3-0. Bowness has long appreciated the play of the Predators smooth-skating blue-liner. “They have one of the elite defencemen in the world in Josi – who I love watching play,” said Bowness. “Hate coaching against him, but I love watching the man play the game.”

Sunday night was another prime example of why Bowness shares both of those viewpoints. Josi is up to 15 points in 20 games this season and just provided a friendly reminder to voters that he plans to remain in the discussion for the Norris Trophy, which is something Tampa Bay Lightning D Victor Hedman did earlier in this road trip.

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THE PERFORMANCE – There’s no disputing that the Jets had the second best netminder in the contest, but to say this was just about goaltending was far too simplistic. Making his fifth start in 20 games, Brossoit didn’t have much work in the early going and the only goal where he didn’t play it all that well was the second one.

For those suggesting the Jets should have kept riding Connor Hellebuyck, he can’t play every game and he’s already among the busiest goalies in the NHL in the opening quarter of the season. The Jets have to think about the big picture. Not only does that mean getting Brossoit more regular work, it means doing so in divisional games like this one.

Hellebuyck will be between the pipes against the Stars and Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, potentially giving Brossoit a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. Brossoit needs to make north of 20 starts this season and it should be closer to 25. This is the only way to accomplish that goal.

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GETTING CLOSE – Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi continues to progress as he works his way back from the sprained MCL (knee) he suffered in the first period of the third game of the season, but he missed a 17th consecutive game on Sunday, moving his potential return date to Tuesday (at the earliest). That would mark six weeks six suffering the injury.

Bowness wasn’t leaving many clues as to where Vilardi will slot in when he’s ready to play – though you can rule out one possibility based on what Bowness said after the morning skate on Sunday. “We’ll deal with that when we get there,” said Bowness. “Gabe has missed a lot of time. We’re not going to throw him right back to 20 minutes a night on the top line. We’re going to give him a chance when he gets back in, to give him the chance to get his game back under his feet.”

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THE INJURY (PART II) – Winnipegger Cody Glass has missed both games against his hometown team this season and has been limited to one assist in nine games with the Predators so far. Glass has left a positive impression on both Predators head coach Andrew Brunette and fellow centre Ryan O’Reilly though.

“He’s obviously a great hockey player. It’s just unfortunate with these injuries right now,” said O’Reilly. “He gets back and he’s playing great and he gets a little setup. He’s such a smart player. I love his two-way game. He really reads the play and he’s on the right side (of the puck), he’s not a guy that’s cheating for offence. He plays the right way constantly and makes something happen, too. He’s a great guy and he can just tell he loves the game and does it the right way, which is cool to see.”

Glass had 14 goals and 35 points in 72 games in his first full NHL season with the Predators last season.

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EXTRA, EXTRA –The Jets didn’t make any lineup changes on Sunday, though defenceman Brenden Dillon was officially a game-time decision as he deals with a lower-body issue. That meant D Logan Stanley and F Dominic Toninato were the healthy scratches, along with D Declan Chisholm, who rejoined the team after finishing up his conditioning assignment with the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League with five assists in six games.

The Predators were happy to welcome back defenceman Luke Schenn, who suited up for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury in the season opener. The Predators used 11 forwards and seven D-men with Schenn returning to the lineup.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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