Juuse Saros made 25 saves, but the Nashville Predators fell to the Winnipeg Jets by a 3-0 final on Monday night at Canada Life Centre. The result sees the Preds drop their second straight game out of the holiday break as they were unable to beat Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg.
“It was a tight game,” Preds Captain Roman Josi said. “I thought [it was a] pretty even game for the first two periods, kind of back and forth. We got some looks, we played well defensively and going into the third [period], a 1-0 game...we’ve got to find a way to get some goals… It's frustrating because you're right there. But you're finding a way to lose, not finding a way to win. So that's what's frustrating.”
“It was a close hockey game, kind of a low-event, tight-checking,” Preds Head Coach Andrew Brunette said. “Both teams didn't give up a whole lot. We kind of made a little mistake near the end of the second, and then obviously the power play in the third. We kind of mismanaged the puck a few times and got caught a little bit. Margins are small, and we found a way to lose it tonight.”
After a goalless opening period, the second stanza seemed to be heading in that same direction, but Dylan DeMelo broke the tie at the 17:18 mark of the middle frame to give the Jets a 1-0 lead.
The game remained tight, and Nashville continued to press, but the Jets capitalized twice with a pair of power-play goals from Gabriel Vilardi late in the third period to finish off the night.
“I thought it was really good,” Brunette said of his team’s defensive play. “I thought our whole game was good. You felt comfortable the whole game. I thought we did some pretty good things offensively. I thought we played fast at different stretches during the game. We had our looks, just a little bit of a breakdown near the end of the second. And then [during the] third, we're kind of getting going, and then, unfortunately, we kind of mismanaged the puck, took a penalty, mismanaged another puck, and took another penalty. And we can't give that power play a 5-on-3 late in a game like that.”
Now, the Preds will head to Minnesota to face the Wild on New Year’s Eve tomorrow night with one more chance to close out the year with a win.
“[It’s a] back-to-back, obviously, and against one of the better teams in the League as well, so it's a great challenge,” Josi said. “I think we need to learn from today. Tomorrow is another good offensive team. We’ve got to play well defensively again, [be] hard to play against and just find a way to win, not find a way to lose, and we’ve got to go out and do it tomorrow.”
Notes:
Vinnie Hinostroza made his Predators debut on Monday night after being recalled from Milwaukee (AHL) on Saturday; the forward recorded one shot and two hits in 11:27 of ice time.
Defenseman Justin Barron was Nashville’s lone scratch against the Jets.
The Predators will now head to Minnesota for a clash with the Wild on New Year’s Eve to finish up the 2024 calendar year and a back-to-back set. Nashville will then head back to Canada to begin 2025 in Vancouver against the Canucks on Friday.
