Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/jets-fall-5-3-to-feisty-predators-in- nashville-458975483.html

Jets fall 5-3 to feisty Predators in Nashville

By: Jason Bell

NASHVILLE – Some periods the would like to bottle up and savour, but the middle period Monday night at the home of the wasn't worthy of remembrance.

Ugly wouldn't be overstating things as the visitors surrendered three goals in the second frame and tried but failed in their comeback attempt, finally falling 5-3 to the Nashville Predators.

Winnipeg's four-game winning streak was abruptly halted by the Predators, while the Jets finally lost to a Central Division opponent after coming in 4-0-0.

Nashville (12-6-2) has won seven of eight games in November. The Jets (12-5-3) were sloppy in their own end in the middle period and careless with their sticks, taking three minors that resulted in power-play goals by Kyle Turris and . had scored earlier in the period.

"They just took over," said . "A couple of penalties didn’t help our cause. We just didn’t do enough of the little things and they capitalized on their opportunities."

The Jets, who had a four-game winning streak snapped, outshot the Predators 12-5 in the first period but had to settle for a 1-1 draw as Predators' Kevin Fiala and Winnipeg's Mathieu Perreault, with his first of two on the night, traded tallies.

After the intermission, Nashville notched the go-ahead just 26 seconds in on Johansen's second goal of the season. Jets blue-liner Jacob Trouba mishandled the puck behind the red line, grabbed it and found Johansen alone in the slot.

The hosts took a two-goal lead on a one-timer by Turris – his fifth of the year and second since coming over in a trade from the Senators Nov. 5 – with his team on the power play. Blue-liner set up the wicked blast that squeezed between starting goalie Connor Hellebuyck's arm and mid-section.

Killing another late in the period, had plenty of time to clear the puck but bobbled it to Fiala, and, after a couple pretty passes, Ekholm pumped in his fifth with just 58 seconds left in the second.

"Well, we get in the (penalty) box, that’s a problem for us (and) some self-inflicted wounds on the penalty kill, things we didn’t need to chase or turnovers we can’t have," said Jets .

"We chased a face-off loss we shouldn’t chase (on Turris' goal)... the second one, that’s got to get down (the ice)."

It was Winnipeg's first of five games against the squad that lost the Stanley Cup championship series to the last season.

The Jets have allowed at least five goals in all five of their losses in regulation time this season.

A concert at the previous night clearly caused some ice issues, however, both teams had to deal with same surface.

"The puck was definitely bouncing, but both teams were playing on the same ice. We’re never going to use the ice as an excuse," said Tyler Myers, who provided a third-period goal. "It is what it is. If we can be more aware if that’s happening, maybe make things a bit more simple, chip pucks in and get on them. Try to make plays that might create a turnover."

Nick Bonino also scored for Nashville.

Down 5-1 midway through the third period, the Jets closed to within a pair on goals by Perreault and Myers but came up short.

"It was nice to see we fought back in the third. We didn’t show any quit in our game. We could have easily packed it in, with a 5-1 game. But we pushed back," said Perreault. "It was nice to see the guys pushing hard."

Perreault, who has five goals in just eight games and has scored in three straight contests, said it's important the squad gets over this defeat in a hurry.

"Definitely, but you know what, we’ve been playing some good hockey. We’ll just put it behind us and focus on what’s coming ahead. We’re not going to change anything, we’re playing well right now. We like our record and we like where our game is at. It’s just one game."

Jets right-winger Patrik Laine had registered at least a point in eight straight games but was held off the scoresheet by the Predators.

Hellebuyck, making his fourth straight start, blocked 25 shots, while made 32 saves for Nashville.

The battle in Music City represented the start of a four-game road trip for the Jets, who head to California for stops in Los Angeles Wednesday, Anaheim Friday afternoon and San Jose Saturday night.

Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/second-period-collapse-sinks-jets

Second-period collapse sinks Jets

By Ken Wiebe

NASHVILLE – From a second period to remember to a second period the Winnipeg Jets would like to quickly forget.

After exploding for five goals in the middle stanza in a 5-2 victory over the on Saturday, the Jets were hoping to build on that as they faced the Nashville Predators in the first of five meetings this season.

But after the two teams traded goals in the first on Monday in Music City, the Predators found another gear, scoring three times in what became a 5-3 win over the Jets at Bridgestone Arena.

That brought an abrupt end to the Jets four-game winning streak and dropped them to 12-5-3 on the season.

“We just didn’t have it, especially in the second,” said Jets Tyler Myers, who had a goal and an assist. “Our first was pretty good and we battled in the third, but that 20 minutes in the middle there, we let too much happen.

“We didn’t like our second period at all. Down 4-1 going into the third, we told ourselves to go as hard as we can and work as hard as we can, to give ourselves a . I like the way we battled in the third to try and come back. But it was just too little, too late.”

Despite the loss, the Jets tied a franchise record with 12 wins and 27 points through 20 games, matching the numbers set by the Atlanta Thrashers during the 2006-07 season.

“Well, we’ve been pretty darn consistent after our first two (games) that we started the season (with),” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice, asked for his thoughts on the first quarter of the season. “We’ve had a couple that you don’t like, every team’s got that. We’ve been pretty resilient in games. I’d say we’ve been pretty consistent.”

It was the first loss in five games against Central Division opponents and allowed the Predators to pull within one point of the Jets, who continue a four-game road trip on Wednesday against the .

Discipline was a concern for the Jets on Monday, as they gave up two power-play goals on three second-period chances.

Newly acquired centre Kyle Turris was in the middle of the action, blasting home a one-timer (on the power play) and chipping in an assist on the other man-advantage marker from defenceman Mattias Ekholm.

Kevin Fiala and Nick Bonino had the other goals for the Predators.

“They just took over,” said Jets captain Blake Wheeler. “A couple of penalties didn’t help our cause. We just didn’t do enough of the little things and they capitalized on their opportunities.”

By picking up Turris in the blockbuster three-way deal with the and , Predators served notice that the window for his team to win is now.

Coupled with Ryan Johansen, who scored his second goal of the season, Turris gives the Predators an outstanding one-two punch down the middle, with Bonino back from injury and anchoring the third line.

Following a slow start to the season, the Predators are rounding nicely into form, winning seven of the past eight games.

With his group unable to generate much offensively during the second period, Maurice got the blender out in the third, mixing up three of his four lines and shortening his bench.

The most notable change saw Bryan Little move between Mathieu Perreault and and Adam Lowry centre Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers.

Laine had his eight-game point streak snapped, while Perreault continued his strong play since returning from a leg injury that kept him on the shelf for 12 games.

With two goals on Monday, Perreault has four goals and five points in three games since he’s been back.

“It was nice to see we fought back in the third. We didn’t show any quit in our game. We could have easily packed it in, with a 5-1 game. But we pushed back,” said Perreault. “We’ve been playing some good hockey. We’ll just put it behind us and focus on what’s coming ahead. We’re not going to change anything. We’re playing well right now. We like our record and we like where our game is at. It’s just one game.”

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck wasn’t as sharp as he’s been for much of the season, giving up two goals on the first six shots he faced and five on 29 shots overall.

Although you wouldn’t lay the blame on Hellebuyck by any stretch of the imagination, it’s the third time in his past seven starts Hellebuyck has given up five goals.

This is not the sound of an alarm bell going off.

There’s no doubt Hellebuyck is THE biggest reason the Jets got off to such a strong start.

However, it’s possible the workload is getting to be a bit taxing for Hellebuyck.

And with finding his rhythm during his past two starts, it’s time to get him a little more work.

During the last homestand, Maurice suggested he was considering splitting the starts between the two goalies on this trip.

That sounds like a good plan.

Give Hellebuyck a few days to clear his head and work on his game and see if Mason can keep up his improved play. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/jets-captain-learn-from-history

Jets captain: Learn from history

By Paul Friesen

There's an old saying that wasn't coined for hockey, but might apply nonetheless to the Winnipeg Jets. Perhaps you really can't know where you're going unless you know where you've already been.

Most observers would probably agree the Winnipeg Jets began turning their fortunes around two games into the season.

While those first two were basically a write-off, the Jets had gone 12-2-3 since, going into Monday night’s game in Nashville.

But something Blake Wheeler said recently makes me wonder if the seeds for this success weren’t planted as far back as 13 months ago.

The Jets captain was speaking at last week’s luncheon to honour Dale Hawerchuk’s induction to the Jets Hall of Fame, when he made some interesting comments that show how a city’s history can affect its current players.

“I remember, obviously, coming here, the feeling, how passionate this community was about hockey,” Wheeler said. “But I don’t think our group really understood everything the Jets meant to the community. And to be honest with you I don’t really think it hit home until last year at the Heritage Classic.”

Wheeler said going to a Heritage Classic banquet last October and seeing all-time greats from the Jets and Oilers talk about old times had a big impact on him.

“I remember leaving that banquet and talking to my wife, Sam, and saying how incredible that was,” he said. “We didn’t understand what it meant to be a Jet until that point in time.”

Now, a better understanding of your city’s hockey history doesn’t mean an automatic bump in the standings.

The Jets lost that outdoor game to the Oilers, 3-0, and didn’t exactly go on a tear after it, either.

But perhaps those seeds take a while to germinate.

The Jets’ early-season performance this year can’t be ignored, while it’s worth noting Wheeler is on pace for the first 100-point season of his career

Can being aware of and tied to a team’s past – yeah, we know the Jets became the , but please – make a difference in the present and future?

Certainly Wheeler was inspired by hearing from people like Hawerchuk, Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson.

Only recently has True North Sports and Entertainment embraced the link between the Jets, past and present.

True North boss Mark Chipman isn’t the only NHL owner who’s shown reluctance to do that.

Wheeler pointed to his home town team as an example.

“I grew up in Minneapolis… and know the feeling of what it’s like to get a hockey team taken away,” Wheeler told the luncheon. “Was a North Stars fan growing up. They were taken away from us when I was pretty young. So I remember going through that. Even to this day I don’t think that connection has really been made between the North Stars and the Wild.

“I just wanted to commend Chip for a great job linking the two paths between the first version of the Jets and our group. It’s a really cool thing.”

OK, you’re thinking. So it’s cool. Big deal.

But Wheeler closed his remarks by thanking Hawerchuk, Nilsson and Hedberg for what they did in this town years ago, suggesting it will have an effect on him and his teammates this season, and beyond.

“You look at those videos,” Wheeler said, addressing Hawerchuk. “Some of the big goals you scored, white shirts in the stands – that’s what Scheif (Mark Scheifele) and I want to do.”

“That’s something we can point to every day. We can show our guys, ‘Hey, these are the guys that built the way for us.’ So hopefully we can take it a step farther and we can build on the legacy you guys built here.”

In a subsequent interview with NHL.com, Wheeler noted he and his teammates never had that history to build on, or to lean on, in Atlanta.

“The Thrashers didn’t have much of a history or much culture,” he said. “And the connection really hadn’t been made between the first version of the Jets and us. I think people were just so excited about having a team that it was kind of all about us.”

It took a few years, but Chipman and Co. finally saw a benefit to recognizing the original versions of the Jets.

“Not much is said about those great teams that were here,” Wheeler said. “So it was cool to see how meaningful those guys were, guys like Dale, like Teemu (Selanne), how meaningful and impactful they were on the community here and just how close they were to being a championship-caliber team.

“It helps strike a chord. You go down the list of teams that have some tradition, where you put on that sweater and it means something. So I think it means a little more now, knowing what went on before us.”

Does it lead to wins in 2017-18? Who knows?

But there’s an old saying that wasn’t coined for hockey, but might apply nonetheless.

Perhaps you really can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve already been. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/perreault-approves-of-suspension-for- gudaschiarot-sees-opportunity-with-enstrom-injuryberdin-scores-first-goal

Perreault approves of suspension for Gudas…Chiarot sees opportunity with Enstrom injury…Berdin scores first goal

By Ken Wiebe

NASHVILLE – Mathieu Perreault realizes he got off lucky to not suffer an injury and he’s happy the NHL department of player safety came down with a lengthy suspension for defenceman Radko Gudas.

Gudas delivered a violent two-handed slash to the back of Perreault’s neck after the two were engaged in a battle down low during Thursday’s game between the Winnipeg Jets and Flyers.

Gudas, a repeat offender, received a 10-game suspension and will forfeit more than $408,500 in salary.

“It doesn’t really change anything for me. It’s not like we’re playing those guys anytime soon, but I’m glad they took care of it,” said Perreault. “I’m just happy I didn’t get hurt. It could have been a lot worse. I’m glad I’m fine.”

Perreault does feel a lengthy suspension should serve as a deterrent.

“I hope for him (it is). This wasn’t the first time he’s done something like that,” said Perreault. “The point of all this is to get rid of the stupid moves, really. Hopefully, that sends him a message.”

The message sent by the NHL department of player safety was a clear one.

“It’s unacceptable, that’s the lesson they’re trying to send,” said Jets centre Matt Hendricks, when asked about the play in question. “Accidental or not, we are, as players, responsible for our sticks and our actions with them. It was a tough one to take. I’m glad (Perreault) is all right. It didn’t look pretty.”

Jets head coach Paul Maurice thought the department of player safety got the ruling right.

“The league has been really consistent with the sticks that get up that high, especially if they involve the neck,” said Maurice. “Dustin Byfuglien got a pretty heavy one (a four-game suspension for cross-checking J.T. Miller in April of 2015) a couple of years ago for something not nearly as egregious. You know what, every player and everybody involved in the game will support that suspension because of the potential of injury, the kind of drastic injury that could have been. We just can’t have that.”

The Jets and Flyers won’t meet again until March 10.

Chiarot gets first opportunity On Monday night, Jets defenceman Ben Chiarot got the first chance to help try and fill the void on defence after Toby Enstrom was lost for roughly eight weeks with a lower-body injury he sustained in Saturday’s game against the New Jersey Devils.

Maurice was asked what gave Chiarot a leg up over rookie Tucker Poolman, who was recalled from the Manitoba Moose of the on Sunday after recording one assist in seven games since he was sent to the minors.

Chiarot went from a healthy scratch in 17 of 18 games to the Jets’ second pairing with Dustin Byfuglien.

“(Chiarot) has been here. He’s a left-handed shot and he’s played with Dustin before,” said Maurice. “He’s filled that hole and had success where he’s going.”

In his only NHL game this season prior to Monday, Chiarot had a steady showing, playing 16:08.

“It’s one thing if you go in and you don’t do well or the team doesn’t do well and you come back out and you know that it’s kind of your fault,” said Chiarot. “So, going in and having a good performance and the team winning, from my last game, you can reflect back on that and know that you played well and it’s not something you did to come back out of the lineup.”

Chiarot admits there have been dark days during his extended time in the press box, but he’s stayed positive and worked hard to be ready for this opportunity to re-establish himself as a regular.

“It’s been long, it’s been a process. You start to lose your mind a little bit when you’re skating in circles every day like that. But it should all pay off,” said Chiarot. “You do all the right things and good things should happen. You just put your head down and work, that’s all you can really do.”

Berdin scores first goal, celebrates Jets goalie prospect Mikhail Berdin had quite a game on Saturday for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL, scoring a goal into the empty net in a 7-4 victory over the Muskegon Lumberjacks.

If the goal wasn’t impressive enough, Berdin turned heads on social media with an epic celebration.

Berdin, who is well known for his puckhandling ability, picked up the puck behind his net and fired it the length of the ice.

“You know what, I don’t cringe anymore because he makes six or seven breakouts, clears or passes a game, so I’ve gotten immune to it,” Stampede head coach and general manager Scott Owens said in a telephone interview on Monday. “The interesting thing was he picked up below the goal line and fired it and the second it left his stick, he knew it was going in the net. In 32 years, I have not seen (a goalie goal) in a game.”

Included in the celebration were several fist-pumps, a series of high fives from his teammates, a salute to the hometown crowd and a celebratory dance.

“That celebration is priceless,” said Owens, who went on to discuss the growth he’s seen in Berdin during his second season with the Stampede. “He’s comfortable over here and his personality is coming out more because he’s able to converse. He’s mature, he’s stronger physically and he’s always been mentally tough and he looks big in goal. He plays his angles well and he’s right on track. If he continues (to progress) at the level he’s at and the pace he’s at, he’s got a real chance.”

Berdin, chosen by the Jets in the sixth round (157th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, is off to another strong start to the season, posting a record of 6-3-1 with a 2.33 goals-against average and .933 save % in 13 games with the Stampede.

The 19-year-old netminder recently competed for his country during the CHL Canada/Russia Series and is a candidate to be chosen to play at the 2018 World Junior Hockey Championship in Buffalo.

Associated Press http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/rinne-makes-32-saves-predators-stop-jets-win-streak-five- games/

Rinne makes 32 saves as Predators stop Jets’ win streak at five games

By Associated Press

NASHVILLE — With a chance to contribute on special teams, Mattias Ekholm is showing just how dangerous he can be for the Nashville Predators.

Kyle Turris, Kevin Fiala and Ryan Johansen each had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators past the Winnipeg Jets 5-3 on Monday night.

Ekholm and Nick Bonino also scored, and P.K. Subban, and Roman Josi added two assists apiece as Nashville won for the seventh time in eight games. Pekka Rinne made 32 saves.

Ekholm has scored in four straight games, extending the best streak of his career and establishing a Nashville record for goals in consecutive games by a defenceman. Three of them have come on the power play, and the other short-handed.

“I think what we’re seeing is he’s got a really good shot from the point right now,” Predators coach said. “He’s getting some power-play time and he’s really bringing the hammer.”

Mathieu Perreault scored twice and Tyler Myers had a goal and an assist for the Jets, who had won four straight.

Fiala scored the game’s first goal at 3:31 of the opening period.

On a delayed penalty to Winnipeg, Fiala came on as the extra attacker. Subban faked a slapshot from the left point before sending a pass to Fiala in the lower part of the right faceoff circle. From there, he beat goalie Connor Hellebuyck between the pads with a spinning backhand.

Perreault tied it at 6:23 of the first.

With the Jets on a power play, Myers’ slap shot from the centre of the blue line hit Perreault standing just outside the crease, and the puck sailed over Rinne’s left shoulder.

Nashville used a three-goal second period to break the game open.

“We got in the box — that’s a problem for us,” Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said. “We had some self-inflicted wounds on the penalty kill, things that we didn’t need to chase or turnovers that we can’t have.”

Johansen made it 2-1 just 26 seconds into the second with a wrist shot from the slot just underneath the crossbar.

After not scoring in the first 17 games of the season, Johansen has a goal in two of his last three. The goal was his 300th NHL point.

“I needed one for sure to get me going, so hopefully that can continue,” he said.

Turris scored a power-play goal at 11:32 of the second with a slap shot from the left faceoff circle set up by a nice pass from Josi.

“They just took over,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. “A couple of penalties didn’t help our cause. (We) just didn’t do enough little things and they capitalized on their opportunities.”

Nashville struck again on the power play at 19:02 of the second when Ekholm beat Hellebuyck with a slap shot from the high slot.

“I play on a really good power-play unit,” Ekholm said. “I think the power play has been a huge factor in these wins and it is going to continue to do that. We have two good units and that feels really good.”

Bonino scored at 9:16 of the third and Myers followed 1:23 later. Perreault scored his second of the night at 16:04.

NOTES: Hellebuyck made 24 saves. … Nashville C Austin Watson served the first of a two- game suspension as a result of a boarding call during Saturday night’s game against Colorado. … Johansen has 20 points in 15 career games against Winnipeg. … The Jets fell to 4-1-0 against Central Division opponents. … Winnipeg RW Patrik Laine’s eight-game point streak ended.

UP NEXT Jets: At the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. Predators: Host the on Wednesday.

NHL.com https://www.nhl.com/news/winnipeg-jets-nashville-predators-game-recap/c-293201474

Five Predators score in victory against Jets Fiala, Johansen, Turris each has goal, assist; Nashville gets seventh win in eight games by Robby Stanley / NHL.com Correspondent

NASHVILLE -- Kevin Fiala, Ryan Johansen and Kyle Turris each had a goal and an assist for the Nashville Predators in a 5-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Bridgestone Arena on Monday.

The Predators (12-6-2) have won seven of eight games, including four in a row at home, where they are 7-1-1.

Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm scored a goal for the fourth straight game, Viktor Arvidsson, P.K. Subban and Roman Josi each had two assists, and Pekka Rinne made 32 saves.

Ekholm's four goals in four games are a Predators record for defensemen.

"I'm playing on a really good power play unit," Ekholm said. "I play with [Turris] and [Josi] on my flanks, and [Fiala] is really good in the middle and [Colton Sissons] is always in front of the net, so credit to those guys for giving me the opportunities to shoot the puck and getting those really good looks."

Mathieu Perreault scored two goals for the Jets (12-5-3), who lost for the first time in five games.

"We got in the [penalty] box, that's a problem for us," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "And then some self-inflicted wounds on the penalty kill, things that we didn't need to chase or turnovers that we can't have. And then at the end, our gap was off a little bit."

Fiala gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 3:31 of the first period. He received a pass from Subban on a delayed penalty and beat Connor Hellebuyck with a backhand.

"He's a competitor," Johansen said. "You guys, I'm sure, can see that from watching the games, the way he battles on pucks and competes for ice and body position. It's what makes him successful. When he's got that dog-on-a-bone mentality, he's a dangerous player. I sure wouldn't want to play against him."

Perreault scored on the power play to tie it 1-1 at 6:23 of the first on a redirection of a Tyler Myers shot.

Johansen gave the Predators a 2-1 lead 26 seconds into the second period. Filip Forsberg passed to Johansen, who beat Hellebuyck with a wrist shot from the slot for his 300th NHL point.

"I'm getting old is what it feels like," Johansen said of the milestone. "It's cool, though. But, yeah, just something to smile about, I guess."

Turris made it 3-1 when he one-timed a pass from Josi past Hellebuyck on the power play at 11:32 of the second.

Ekholm put the Predators ahead 4-1 with 57 seconds left in the second with a slap shot through traffic from the point after receiving a pass from Josi.

"I thought we played well," Ekholm said. "They're a good team. It was an even hockey game, 1- 1 (after the first period) I think was probably a good result for both teams. And then we got out in the second, and we just stepped on the gas I feel like. They looked tired, and we just kept coming at them."

Nick Bonino gave Nashville a 5-1 lead at 9:16 of the third period on a backhand from the slot before Myers scored at 10:40 to make it 5-2.

Perreault scored his second of the night to get the Jets within 5-3 at 16:06. It was his fifth goal of the season, fourth in the three games.

Goal of the game Johansen's goal 26 seconds into the second period.

Save of the game Rinne stopping Patrik Laine at 7:32 of the third period.

Highlight of the game Fiala's goal at 3:31 of the first period.

They said it "You know what, we've been pretty darn consistent after our first two that we started the season. We've had a couple that you don't like. Every team's got that. We've been pretty resilient in games, but I'd say we've been pretty consistent." -- Jets coach Paul Maurice on their first 20 games

"He plays both ends of the ice, left side, right side, I don't think it matters. I think what we're seeing is he's got a real good shot from the point right now. He's getting some power play time, and he's really bringing the hammer, I think, from the weak side of the ice. It looks good. That's good for him. He's done a really good job fitting in on the power play. I think the power play, the 5-on-4 part of it, has looked really good in the last 10 games or so, where we've been able to produce and score some goals, and he's a big part of that." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette on defenseman Mattias Ekholm

Need to know Laine's eight-game point streak came to an end. … Johansen has two goals in his past three games after not scoring the first 17 games of the season.

What's next Jets: At the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday (10:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, TSN3, NHL.TV) Predators: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; SN1, FS-TN, RDS, NHL.TV) https://www.nhl.com/news/blake-wheeler-winnipeg-jets-feature/c-293156838?tid=284438166

Wheeler makes impact as Jets captain Forward playing huge role in Winnipeg's 12-4-3 start by Tim Campbell @TimNHL / NHL.com Staff Writer

WINNIPEG -- Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler's impact on the ice is easy to document.

The 31-year-old from Robbinsdale, Minnesota was tied for sixth in NHL scoring through Saturday with 25 points (five goals, 20 assists) in 19 games.

Since being named Jets captain Aug. 31, 2016, Wheeler is eighth in League scoring with 99 points in 101 games, producing more than other prominent players such as forward Leon Draisaitl (91 points), forward Auston Matthews (90), forwards (90) and Tyler Seguin (90), forward Alex Ovechkin (89) and forward (88).

With Wheeler's help, the Jets have started 12-4-3 heading into a four-game road trip that begins at the Nashville Predators on Monday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, FS-TN, NHL.TV).

It's off the ice where Wheeler has not only embraced his role, but helped foster the Jets' growth.

"We have other leaders in this room as well, but you can see a leader, he's somebody who's good on and off the ice," said forward Nikolaj Ehlers, 21, the ninth pick of the 2014 NHL Draft. "And he's like that every single day. And when young guys come into the League, like I did a few years ago, we look up to guys like him. And that's what a leader does."

Wheeler's intensity has long been a trademark. But as Jets captain, he has said he hopes to be a little less heart-on-sleeve in the emotional cauldron that a Canadian market can be.

Even that self-critique resonates with his teammates.

"I think every year you're a captain in this league, you learn more and more," said Mark Scheifele, 24, Wheeler's regular center. "That's just him learning, more about himself and more about what this team needs. That just speaks volumes about him, that he sees the team needs a less-serious guy, just a little more laid back. Not a matter of joking around all the time, but not having the ups and downs, trying to keep that even-keel.

"When you see a guy like , no matter what interview it is, it's the same way no matter what happens, because he's confident. I think that's what [Wheeler] has, the confidence in this room and in his game as well."

Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey, 22, is in his second NHL season and said Wheeler's intensity is "the heartbeat of our team."

"He has an intense fire about him," Morrissey said. "Every day, he's the hardest-working guy, he's intense and he's always working on his game. His fiery side, that's what you want in a leader. Everyone leads differently, but I love that about him. He holds himself more accountable than he holds anyone else in the locker room accountable.

"When you have a guy like that, who holds himself to such a high standard as far as compete and execution … now when he talks in the locker room and he wants a little more out of the group, you believe him and you want to listen to him because he's doing that himself. That's something everyone can relate to and want to get behind."

Wheeler downplays his own evolution as captain, believing his and the Jets' progress is a collective effort.

"I don't think I've changed who I am," Wheeler said. "As a whole, you try to treat each guy as an individual. You learn a lot about the guys, what makes them tick. It's been helpful getting to know the guys, and I've been around most of these guys for a long time.

"We have a close group, so it's been good. It's not just all on me. We have a bunch of guys who are vocal in the locker room and when you're winning, it makes it exciting to come to the room every day. It's not just all on me. It's been a group effort."

Wheeler's eye for the big picture has struck a chord in Winnipeg.

Through good and bad times, even before he became captain, he has been consistently focused on playing the right way and helping nurture growth in a young team. He also has a good handle the importance of the organization in the fabric of Manitoba and its capital city.

Wheeler spoke at the second annual Winnipeg Jets Hall of Fame luncheon that honored the newest inductee, Dale Hawerchuk, last Wednesday.

He said he was grateful for all the past contributions from Hawerchuk and from last year's inductees, Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson, who were also in attendance, and pointed to the 2016 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic and its accompanying alumni game in Winnipeg as a revelation for the present-day Jets.

"When you come into a new city - the Thrashers didn't have much of a history or much culture (in Atlanta) - so we didn't have much of that," Wheeler said. "And the connection really hadn't been made between the first version of the Jets and us. I think people were just so excited about having a team that it was kind of all about us.

"Seeing those guys come back, you could tell how appreciative they were to be recognized. Not much is said about those great teams that were here. So, it was cool to see how meaningful those guys were, guys like Dale, like Teemu (Selanne), how meaningful and impactful they were on the community here and just how close they were to being a championship-caliber team.

"It helps strike a chord. You go down the list of teams that have some tradition, where you put on that sweater and it means something, so I think it means a little more now knowing what went on before us." https://www.nhl.com/news/patrik-laine-on-teemu-selanne-nhl-greatest-moment/c- 293009778?tid=284438166

Laine views Selanne's 76-goal rookie record as unbreakable Jets forward believes it will be hard for anyone to come close to mark, which is in running for Greatest NHL Moment by Tim Campbell @TimNHL / NHL.com Staff Writer

WINNIPEG -- Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine says he can't fathom how Teemu Selanne scored an NHL rookie-record 76 goals with the Jets in 1992-93.

"I think for sure that's going to be a record that no one will ever break," Laine said. "It's for sure. If you score 76 during the regular season, not even as a rookie, that would be huge. So 76 goals, that was just a lot of goals and a record nobody will ever break."

Selanne's 132 points from that season also set an NHL rookie record.

The Finnish Flash's hat trick against the Quebec Nordiques on March 2, 1993 put him at 54 goals on the season, breaking the NHL rookie record Mike Bossy set with the New York Islanders in 1977-78. It's one of four moments that have reached the semifinal round of the Greatest NHL Moments Presented by Coors Light and Pepsi Zero Sugar.

The original bracket of 64 moments was determined by a panel consisting of broadcasters from NHL national rightsholders NBC Sports Group, NHL Network, and TVA.

Selanne's record-breaking game on his way to a 76-goal season is up against Bobby Orr's iconic overtime goal for the that won the Stanley Cup on May 15, 1970 in the semifinal round. The other matchup is Wayne Gretzky scoring 50 goals in 39 games in the 1981-82 season against Mario Lemieux scoring five goals five different ways Dec. 31, 1988. Fans can vote in the semifinal round NHL.com/GreatestMoments.

The semifinal voting closes Nov. 21. Voting in the final round will take place Nov. 22-28. The Greatest NHL Moment will be announced during the 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic between the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa on Dec. 16 (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports, NHL.TV).

Laine, the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft who scored 36 goals as a rookie last season, tried to imagine what it would have taken to duplicate Selanne's production in his first season.

"Thirty-six, that was hard," Laine said. "So imagine if I had to score 40 more on top of the 36 I scored. I would say it's pretty hard."

Laine, 19, had 64 points (36 goals, 28 assists) in 73 games last season and finished second to Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, who had 40 goals, in voting for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.

This season Laine has 13 points (nine goals, four assists) in 17 games.

"He [Selanne] was just a damn good player and the 76 tells you that," Laine said.

The Athletic https://theathletic.com//159382/2017/11/20/dellow-abandon-hope-all-ye-who-enter-which-nhl- teams-are-at-the-point-of-no-return/?redirected=1

Dellow: Abandon hope, all ye who enter — which NHL teams are at the point of no return?

By Tyler Dellow

This week marks the completion of the first quarter of the NHL season, that magical time of year where everybody churns out their thoughts on the first 20 games of the year and pedants scream about the “quarter pole” actually being something that comes up when a quarter of the race remains. (I think the reason nobody stops saying quarter pole is that the actual quarter pole comes around the trade deadline, so people are writing trade deadline stuff and nobody's casting about for a clever title for their column, which would probably prompt proper use of quarter pole. If you aren't going to get to use such a nice sounding turn of phrase in March, you might as well use it now.)

I've always found those columns a little forced so I thought I'd take a different approach to things: which teams (if any) are beyond the point of return? Who's close to it? Conversely, has anyone punched their ticket yet or gotten close?

The point of no return is the point from which no team has come back to make the playoffs since the NHL went to the current points format in 2005-06. Essentially, a team is below the point of no return if it has fewer points in whatever number of games that it's played than any team to make the playoffs since 2005-06. (Obviously, this doesn't include the 2013 Lockout III season.) Conversely, a team has punched its ticket if it has more points in whatever number of games it's played than any team to miss the playoffs since 2005-06.

It's not dissimilar to Elliotte Friedman's fabled November 1 test but has the advantage of being something that you can look at at any point in the season because it's tied to games played rather than a date. This will come up below but it's not appropriate to call this a projection: it doesn't take into account a team's strength. Unlike a projection though, it does provide a concrete point at which we can say “No team in this team's position has managed to get out of it.”

In order to illustrate progress by game, I've proceeded on a divisional basis. In order to deal with colour clashes — this league loves blue and red — I've split each division on to two graphs. The bright red line at the bottom is the point of no return — fall below that and no team has made the playoffs since 2005-06 from your team's position. The bright yellow line at the top represents the point at which your ticket is punched — get to that line and no team has missed from your position since 2005-06. Through games played Sunday night, two teams have punched their ticket and one team has hit the point of no return.

A technical note: you'll notice the line representing a team punching their ticket doesn't start until game 10. This is, of course, the fault of the 2015-16 Montreal Canadiens, who missed the playoffs after starting 9-0-0.

Pacific Division

I don't even know what to say about Arizona. The Coyotes passed the point of no return after their fifth game of the year.

The real stunner is, of course, the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers have 16 points through 20 games. They're slightly above the point of no return, which stands at 13 points after 20 games but if you look closely, you'll notice that it kind of flatlines for a few games around that point. By game 23, it's up to 17 points.

Being three points above the point of no return kind of undersells the gravity of the Oilers' position. Over the 11 full seasons played since Lockout II, 36 teams have been below 17 points after 20 games. Only one of them made the playoffs — the 2007-08 Washington Capitals, who fired their coach after their 21st game and traded for Cristobal Huet, and went 11-1 in their final 12 games to crawl across the finish line with 94 points. The Capitals made the playoffs with two points to spare.

On the one hand, this is pretty ominous for the Oilers. On the other, they've got the talent to escape from the situation they're in, which wasn't true of the vast, vast majority of teams in their situation. They're at the point where they're staring into the abyss though. A bad week — the Oilers have a set of back-to-back games in St. Louis and Detroit, followed by games in Buffalo and Boston — and the Oilers could conceivably drop below the point of no return by next weekend.

I would disagree with anyone saying that the Oilers have a 1-in-36 chance of getting into the playoffs at this point. Colleague Dom's projections put the likelihood of the Oilers making the playoffs at 22 per cent. The difference between that number and the much less favourable historical likelihood is the result of bringing some assessment of a team's talent into the equation.

It's somewhat amusing that Colleague Dom's model is now so much more bullish on the Oilers than history would suggest is warranted. He was more bearish on the Oilers entering the season than many in Edmonton felt recent history warranted and was duly chastised for his stupid, broken model. Six weeks later, his model is the optimistic one.

However you slice it, it seems like it's more likely than not the Oilers will miss the playoffs, which is a pretty shocking development.

Los Angeles has cooled off since their hot start but the Kings have already hit the point at which a team's ticket is, historically speaking, punched. L.A had 19 points in their first 11 games, nobody who's accomplished that has managed to miss.

Central Division

Nobody in the Central Division is particularly close to the point of no return, with everyone having at least seven points worth of breathing room.

St. Louis on the other hand, is closing in on having its ticket punched. Only two teams with at least 31 points in their first 21 games have missed the playoffs since Lockout II. The 2013-14 Coyotes were one of those teams — they weren't particularly good but still finished with 89 points. The 2015-16 Canadiens were the other. That involved Carey Price getting injured and set off a series of events that saw them trade PK Subban for . Now that Price is injured again, Montreal looks to be on the edge of disaster.

So St. Louis is in a very comfortable spot. Its top six has been excellent. It will be interesting to see if the Blues try to add some depth for the playoffs. When you look back over the Blues history, they've kind of suffered from having their best teams at times when the Western Conference was loaded. In particular, I'm thinking of the turn of the century, when the Blues would run into Dallas or Detroit or Colorado. More recently, they've run into loaded Los Angeles and Chicago teams. That isn't the case this year — it sure looks like this might be a good year for St. Louis to try and find some depth before the playoffs.

Metro Division

The Metro is similar to the Central, in that nobody's close to the point of no return, although the Rangers sure danced with it for a while. The Rangers and Flyers won't have been pleased with their starts, they're both still well ahead of the Capitals at the same point in the 2007-08 season. The first 20 games has eliminated nobody from the discussion.

I'm a long way from sold on the Devils and when you look at how teams with 25 points in their first 19 games have done, there are lots of misses in there. Only 22 of the 30 teams with the same start have gone on to make the payoffs. If you thought that the Devils were awfully thin before the season (I did) and haven't been wowed by their play or underlying numbers (I haven't), then you're probably still justified in not expecting them to make the playoffs. (The same is true of the , by the way.)

Atlantic Division

In many ways, the Atlantic Division has had the most decisive opening quarter of the season. The Lightning have, by historical standards, punched their ticket. All that's keeping Buffalo and Florida above the point of no return is the 2007-08 Capitals. Nothing about either team makes me think they can be the 2007-08 Capitals, although Florida has a phenomenal first line and Buffalo's group of forwards seems pretty good to me. The Panthers get crushed when the first line isn't on the ice and Buffalo's defence corps is horrific. Both seem likely to be fatal flaws.

Which brings me to Montreal. The Canadiens are in a slightly better position that the Oilers in terms of points, with one more game played and two more points. The mood seems more catastrophic around Montreal than it is around the Oilers though. Part of this is probably down to Montreal's talisman Price being injured (after playing badly for long stretches) while Connor McDavid's healthy. Part of it's probably down to the fact the Canadiens seem like they've had more hideous losses than the Oilers, most recently an ugly 6-0 beatdown on Hockey Night in Canada.

Part of managing or coaching a team in Canada is dealing with the noise and chaos that envelops Canadian teams whenever they're doing poorly. In Montreal, that noise and chaos is louder than anywhere else in the NHL. As bad as Montreal's start has been, they aren't out of it, although like Edmonton, they're on the edge of being out of it.

Nobody else in the Atlantic is in imminent danger of hitting the point of no return or particularly close to punching their ticket. If you're interested in the gradual winnowing that ultimately produces a field of 16 teams for the playoffs, Buffalo, Florida, Edmonton and Montreal are the teams worth keeping your eye on over the next couple of weeks. All have time to get out of their current uncomfortable position, although it's by no means assured, but it basically has to start now. Another week or two of aimlessly dropping points and, barring something unprecedented, the season is lost.

CBC Manitoba http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-jets-painting-portraits-jamie-hogaboam- 1.4411591?cmp=rss

Homeless to Hall of Fame: Artist commissioned to paint Winnipeg Jets portraits First job was to paint portrait of Dale Hawerchuk for Hall of Fame induction

By CBC News

A Winnipeg artist who once lived on the street has landed a gig most hockey fans would be envious of.

But for Jamie Hogaboam, painting the portraits of inductees to the Winnipeg Jets Hall of Fame isn't just a cool job — it's a chance to bring attention to the issues of mental health and homelessness.

In 2015, Hogaboam was driving a cab, working 70 hours a week, and barely making enough to pay bills. In addition, he was battling mental illness.

"I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. And I just got diagnosed in the last couple of years," he said.

Hogaboam says he thought about suicide, he tried to seek social assistance, but was denied. He eventually started living with a friend and learned about the Art Beat studio in Winnipeg.

"The people at Art Beat deal with people with mental illnesses all the time. 'Cause 60 per cent of our artists, alumni artists have been homeless at one time."

Jamie started painting again, something he's done since childhood. One of the first things he remembers painting as a child was a cardboard cut-out of L.A. Kings goaltender Rogie Vachon, to use as a practice target.

A painting of Winnipeg-born player Terry Sawchuk proved to be pivotal in Hogaboam's life. When he started working on it, Hogaboam learned that Sawchuk had also lived with untreated mental illness.

"He had conflicts, confrontations with fans and coaches and this and that. I said, well that's all because of the mental illness. But he became the best goaltender to ever play the game. So it inspired me," Hogaboam said.

He put that painting on a card and sent it with a letter to Winnipeg Jets co-owner Mark Chipman. He told Chipman how art helped him with his mental illness, and asked Chipman to come visit the studio in the Exchange District.

Chipman accepted the invitation, and Hogaboam says the had a long conversation about hockey and mental health.

At the end of their meeting, Hogaboam got an offer he just couldn't turn down.

"He turned to me and said, 'OK, Just tell me what it's going to cost and tell me when do we start?' And I said, 'OK, do it, we're here,'" Hogaboam said.

The Jets commissioned the artist to paint all the portraits for the hockey club's hall of fame. His first task was to paint the portrait of the team's first inductee, Dale Hawerchuk, and got to meet him at the hall of fame luncheon.

"I'm standing here with the greatest Winnipeg Jet of all time, one of the greatest hockey players that played the game, and he's telling me how great I am."

Hogaboam is now tasked with painting the famous "Hot Line" of Bobby Hull, Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson.

"When we made the decision to induct Dale into the Hall of Fame, Mark thought, this is just the natural opportunity to commission Jamie to do this painting. He's a very passionate hockey fan, he's a passionate Winnipeg Jets fan," said Rob Wazny, vice-president of communications and community outreach for the Jets.

The Winnipeg Jets played against the Nashville Predators Monday night.

Global Winnipeg https://globalnews.ca/news/3871443/manitoba-moose-francis-beauvillier-stickhandling- homework-and-hockey/

Manitoba Moose Francis Beauvillier stickhandling homework and hockey

By Mitch Rosset Reporter/Anchor

WINNIPEG – For Francis Beauvillier, hockey is as tough mentally as it is physically. Not only does he spend hours studying plays and opponents but also business.

The Manitoba Moose forward is taking online classes to complete his university degree. He was five credits short when he signed with the team this summer.

“I wanted to have a (degree) in case something happens,” Beauvillier said. “An injury or maybe it’s just not going to work.”

Strategy a lot of players don’t think about including Beauvillier when he was drafted by the NHL’s .

“My dad always said you’ve got to go to school,” Beauvillier said. “There’s not many Sidney Crosbys or Connor McDavids in the world.”

Juggling a job and homework can be tough. Assisting Beauvillier is the same determination that got him to the AHL.

“My goal was to play pro hockey,” Beauvillier said. “I’m fortunate and take advantage everyday. What I want now is to get my degree.”

A well-rounded game plan combining smarts with skill.

Sportsnet.ca http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/goes-brown-2017-18-nhl-quarter-season-awards

Down Goes Brown: 2017–18 NHL quarter-season awards

By Sean McIndoe

We’re almost at the quarter-mark of the NHL schedule, which means it’s time to do a few things. First, and most importantly: Start wildly panicking if your team isn’t doing as well as they should be. You guys on that, Montreal and Edmonton? You are? Great, nice work as always.

For the rest of us, we may as well hand out some quarter-season awards. Sure, most of these will turn out to be regrettable in hindsight by the end of the year, and some of them will look bad within weeks. But that’s part of the fun.

So let’s do it. You can vote for your own picks right here with results revealed this week on Wednesday Night Hockey. In the meantime, here’s who we’d be handing out the tiny quarter- sized trophies to, based on the season’s first six weeks.

Best goaltender We already mentioned Crawford and Bobrovsky in the Hart section, so it’s no surprise that they’d be the leading candidates in a quarter-season Vezina race. They’ve put up similar numbers, with both heading into last night’s action with a .933 save percentage, good for the league lead among goalies with at least 10 starts. Bobrovsky has the better win-loss record and goals-against average, although those numbers are often as much a reflection of the team in front of him than the goalie himself.

Other contenders would include Connor Hellebuyck, who’s grabbed the Jets’ starting job and run with it. Jonathan Quick is putting up numbers that match his reputation, and has been a surprise in Detroit. And if you want to argue that the best measure of a goaltender is how often he wins games, you’d want to cast your vote for Tampa’s Andrei Vasilevskiy. (You’d also be wrong, but that’s an argument for another day.)

But we’ll go back to those two Hart candidates. We’ll go with Bobrovsky over Crawford, although it’s basically a coin flip at this point. Hellebuyck takes third spot on our ballot.

Best coach As always, any award recognizing the league’s best coach isn’t really about who’s doing the best job. Rather, it’s about whose team has surpassed expectations the most. After all, if all the experts say a team will be bad and they turn out to be good, it has to be because the coach is working miracles. Otherwise, someone might get the crazy idea that the experts were wrong.

Luckily, that criteria leaves us with plenty of possibilities this year, since it seems like most of the teams we all wanted to write off are better than anyone thought they’d be. So we could go with in New Jersey or in St. Louis, or maybe even Paul Maurice in Winnipeg. The real Jack Adams voters tend to like guys in their first year on a job, so we could go with John Stevens in L.A. or in . Or we could get really crazy and just go with somebody doing a good job for a good team, like or Mike Babcock.

But as it turns out, there’s a coach out there who checks just about all the boxes for a coaching award. He’s new on the job, he’s a former Jack Adams finalist, and he’s taken a team that was supposed to be terrible and turned them into a playoff contender. So congratulations, , you get the nod over Hynes and Cooper on our quarter-season ballot.

Best general manager This one really doesn’t work as a single-year award, so it definitely won’t work based on a quarter of the season. Will that stop us? No, it will not.

The real-world version of this award has never had a repeat winner, which would seem to rule out guys like , and David Poile. It’s also always felt like a bit of a lifetime-achievement award, which makes it weird that and have never won, but with both of their teams ambling along around .500, this doesn’t seem like either’s year. You could make a solid case for and , two guys who’ve executed quick turnarounds on rebuilding teams, but I’m not sure winning the draft lottery is really a GM skill.

It’s tempting to cast a vote for , partly because the Jets are good but mostly because giving best-GM honours to a GM who never makes trades would be just about the most NHL thing ever. And then there’s George McPhee, who’s surpassing all expectations in Las Vegas even though his whole “collect all the defenceman as trade bait” master plan doesn’t seem to have worked out at all. But we just gave the last award to the Knights, and those guys are already getting kind of cocky.

Instead, I’m going off the board a bit and awarding GM honours to Pierre Dorion. Sure, he may have mishandled the whole Marc Methot situation in the off-season, but he did pull off the biggest acquisition of the season so far. If we’re really basing this on the first 20 games or so, Dorion’s done more than just about anyone. And we like trades around these parts, so we have to show some love for a guy who got a blockbuster done. Dorion’s the pick, edging out McPhee and Shero.

TSN.ca http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/mclennan-lazy-penalties-help-sink-jets-in-nashville~1264969 (VIDEO LINK)

McLennan: 'Lazy penalties' help sink Jets in Nashville

Jamie McLennan points to "lazy penalties" in the second period as the reason why the Jets ultimately fell short to the Predators, and explains how Nashville has no weaknesses on its team. www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/jets-open-road-trip-with-loss-to-predators/c-293203070 (INTERVIEWS INCLUDED)

Jets open road trip with loss to Predators Perreault scores twice, Myers adds single as Jets win streak is snapped by Mitchell Clinton @MitchellClinton / WinnipegJets.com

NASHVILLE, TN - A third period rally came up short on Monday night, as the Winnipeg Jets saw their four-game win streak come to an end with a 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena.

The loss was also the Jets first against a Central Division opponent, after winning each of their first four within their division.

Mathieu Perreault scored twice, his third and fourth goals since coming back from a lower-body injury three games ago, and Tyler Myers added a single in the loss.

The difference may have been the second period, when Nashville scored three times to open up a 4-1 lead, with two of those goals coming on the power play.

"We got in the box, that's a problem for us. We had some self-inflicted wounds on the penalty kill, pucks we didn't need to chase or turnovers that we can't have. In the end, our gap was off a little bit," said head coach Paul Maurice.

"The starting point wasn't good. We didn't close our gaps, we came off it a little bit…. We were giving more ice than we needed to."

On a delayed penalty, PK Subban sent a slap pass to Kevin Fiala to the left of Connor Hellebuyck. Fiala picked up the pass on his forehand and spun around to send a backhand shot on net, and the puck slid between Hellebuyck's legs to open the scoring.

The Jets power play would get it back though. With Mattias Ekholm off for tripping Kyle Connor, some quick passing led to a one-timer from Tyler Myers that was deflected by Mathieu Perreault in front of Pekka Rinne. The deflected puck hit Rinne, and hopped over the Nashville goaltender and rolled in.

It was Perreault's third goal (and fourth point) in three games since his return from a lower-body injury.

"We've been playing some good hockey, so we'll just put it behind us and focus on what's coming ahead," said Perreault. "We're not going to change anything, we're playing well right now. We like our record, we like where our game is at, this is just one game."

Nashville's second period outburst began less than a minute into the middle frame. Jacob Trouba lost the handle on the puck behind the Jets net, and Filip Forsberg pounced on the chance to slide a pass in front to Ryan Johansen in the slot. Johansen didn't miss from there, sending a wrist shot past the glove of Hellebuyck for his second of the season, and a 2-1 Predators lead.

Kyle Turris, acquired in a three-way trade with Ottawa and Colorado on Nov. 5, would score his second as a member of the Predators on the power play to extend the lead. His one-timer from the left wing face-off dot off a pass from Roman Josi went under the arm of Hellebuyck, making it 3-1 Predators.

The Predators power play would strike again before the end of the period. This time, it was Patrik Laine in the box for hooking. Shortly after the Jets missed a chance to clear the puck, Ekholm's blast found a way through traffic and past Hellebuyck.

"They just took over. A couple penalties didn't help our cause. We just didn't do enough of the little things, and they capitalized on their opportunities," said captain Blake Wheeler.

"We liked the first and the third period. Got off to a good start, the third period, we were in their zone the whole period. Obviously they're up three goals, so they're sitting on their heels. The second period, we could have done a couple more things to give ourselves a chance in the third."

Nick Bonino would make it 5-1 just over nine minutes into the third, just seconds after a Jets power play had expired. Nick Bonino found some open space in front of Hellebuyck when Myers and Nikolaj Ehlers got their signals crossed on clearing the rebound.

Myers would get that one back 1:23 later, when his wrist shot off the rush beat Rinne stick side from the top of the circle, cutting the Predators' lead to 5-2.

Perreault's second of the night would cut the Nashville lead to 5-3, as Perreault took a pass from Joel Armia below the goal line, and banked the puck in off Rinne with 3:54 left in regulation.

But that's as close as the Jets would get. The loss dropped the Jets record to 12-5-3, but Myers says the team is already looking ahead to another tough test against the Los Angeles Kings in stop number two on the road trip on Wednesday.

"We're not going to dread on it. We have a day off tomorrow, regroup, and get ready for a big three games left on this road trip," said Myers. "We're going to have to come out hungry against LA. They're a good team, and they're doing well. It's going to be a big game." https://www.nhl.com/jets/video/postgame--paul-maurice/t-277437442/c-54840703

POSTGAME | Paul Maurice

Head Coach Paul Maurice addresses the media post-game at Bridgestone Arena https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/jets-fan-gives-woman-with-cancer-a-game-to-remember/c- 293211988

Jets fan gives woman with cancer a game to remember by Jason Friesen @NHLJets / WinnipegJets.com

They don't call Manitoba "friendly" for nothing.

When Winnipeg Jets fan Ryan Delong found out that none of his friends could go to the November 18 game vs. the New Jersey Devils with him, he got the idea to give his extra ticket to somebody who normally wouldn't have the opportunity to go to a Jets game.

He created a posting online for the seat, asking people to explain why they deserved the ticket. In the end, it was Leslie MacKay, a single mother battling breast cancer and lymphoma.

"Immediately I knew, this is the person I'm taking," Delong said, who has had both his mother and mother-in-law pass away from cancer. "And with it being Hockey Fights Cancer month, it just felt like it was perfect."

But Delong was impressed with the generosity of others too. He ended up raising more than enough money from random donors to buy MacKay a Dustin Byfuglien jersey, as well as various other items from the Jets Gear store, and food before and at the game.

After going out for lunch with Leslie and one of her friends, Delong said the game couldn't have been better. And, neither Delong nor MacKay anticipated the surprise that was coming their way once they sat down in their seats. They were presented special Jets Hockey Fights Cancer jerseys on behalf of the Winnipeg Jets. "They had it all up on the scoreboard, and it was just really special."

On top of all that, Delong said people were constantly coming up to them during the game to pat them on the back and give them hugs.

"Leslie couldn't stop smiling," Delong said.

In addition to the money he raised for the Byfuglien jersey, the generosity kept on flowing, as two more people offered tickets to Delong. The first had two more tickets to the November 18 game, which Delong gifted to MacKay's friend and her friend's boyfriend. The other donor gave Delong tickets to a game in February. Delong plans to take the "runner up" from his original post.