Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/weary-and-battered-jets-finish-road-trip- with-3-1-loss-to-preds-476764803.html?k=al1sJb

Battered and weary, Jets wind up road trip with 3-1 loss to Preds

By: Mike McIntyre

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Battered, bruised and likely keeping the ice pack industry booming, the Winnipeg Jets are limping back to town after their longest road trip of the season ended with a disappointing but gutsy defeat Tuesday night in Nashville.

Already missing seven regulars due to injury as they faced a division rival in a back-to-back situation, the list quickly grew by two more before they got out of a nightmarish first period.

Centre Paul Stastny suffered a lower-body ailment in the pre-game warm-up and was a late scratch. And goalie Michael Hutchinson was pulled with an upper-body injury just 8:49 into the opening frame — after giving up three goals on 15 shots.

It looked like the rout would be on. But Winnipeg showed plenty of fight to make a contest of it, ultimately falling 3-1.

"You know what, I remember the last half of that game, in a tough situation I really liked the way we stayed with it. There wasn't anything easy for us there," said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. "You never like to lose, I don't care what your lineup looks like. But you want to walk away feeling that even if you weren't good, you were hard. They gave it what they had."

Winnipeg finishes 3-2-1 on this trip that began with wins against the , New York Rangers and , followed by a regulation loss against the , and an overtime defeat against the .

Nashville's victory puts them eight points ahead of Winnipeg for first place in the Central Division. Winnipeg remains in second place, seven points ahead of the Minnesota Wild. But of greater concern to the Jets is the health of their lineup with just more than three weeks left in the regular season.

Stastny, along with Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry and Matt Hendricks, makes four centres now out of the lineup. Throw in defencemen Jacob Trouba, Toby Enstrom and Dmitry Kulikov, plus Hutchinson now joining the other backup goalie Steve Mason, and you have an alarmingly long list of injured players.

Stastny's injury also threw a last-second wrench in all the lines. Shawn Matthias, activated off injured reserve earlier in the day after missing 24 games, was forced to dress despite not taking the pre-game skate. Winnipeg had no extra players at their disposal. He centred the fourth line with Brandon Tanev and Marko Dano, who came in after Hendricks was hurt the night before in Washington.

"Stastny went into the warm-up, stiffened up and couldn't go," said Maurice, who had no further post-game update.

Blake Wheeler moved back to centre and took Stastny's place on a line with Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers. Bryan Little was between Kyle Connor and Joel Armia, while Andrew Copp skated with Mathieu Perreault and Jack Roslovic.

Playing for the second time in as many days against a rested opponent, Nashville was all over Winnipeg out of the gate. They recorded the first 13 shots of the game, in just more than five minutes of play.

"I saw a team that was down about half their players and playing the back end of a back-to- back, coming off a tough overtime (Monday) night. We knew the first was going to be tough for us, and they came out hot," said Wheeler. "You gotta give them a lot of credit for jumping on us. We didn't quite have our legs under us yet."

Kevin Fiala opened the scoring less than three minutes in, and then Austin Watson and Viktor Arvidsson scored short-handed goals 34 seconds apart to seemingly put this one to bed early.

"Power play's running No. 2 in the . Going to have an off night once in a while," is how Maurice explained it following the game.

Maurice called a timeout after the third , and there appeared to be an animated discussion with Hutchinson, which ended with him being pulled from the game. His mask was knocked off during play a few minutes earlier, and he is coming off a recent concussion that sidelined him for six games.

"Michael did not receive a concussion diagnosis after the game. He'll go back and get it evaluated (Wednesday)," said Maurice, adding Hutchinson told the training staff he "wasn't right.

"He was pretty sure he wasn't going to be able to continue," he said.

That put Connor Hellebuyck in the line of fire, one night after he made 40 saves in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Capitals. Winnipeg was hoping to give their No. 1 goalie a rest, but those plans quickly changed. Hellebuyck stopped all 30 shots he faced in relief.

Nashville outshot Winnipeg 24-6 in the opening period. But the Jets, showing plenty of fight, stopped the bleeding and outshot Nashville 27-21 the rest of the game.

"A terrible start, really. But it's nice to see we didn't quit, we had some fight back in us and actually gave ourselves a chance," said Perreault.

Connor made things interesting when he scored on the power play 68 seconds into the final frame, converting a feed from Wheeler. It was his first goal in nine games and 23rd of the season. Laine drew the other assist, extending his career-best point streak to 13 games (16 goals, seven assists in that span). However, Laine's six-game goal-scoring streak came to an end.

"So proud of our guys. Name a team in the league that's down half their D-core and three of their four centre-ice men and two goaltenders. So it's tough. There's nights you make excuses to make yourself feel better, and there's nights where the reality of the situation is you're playing against a loaded deck. Our guys fought, man," said Wheeler.

Winnipeg will fly back from Nashville in the early-morning hours and have a full day off Wednesday. They kick off a six-game homestand Thursday against the . Eight of their final 12 games will be at Bell MTS Place. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/laine-haunts-elite-goalies-dreams-476767333.html

Laine haunts elite goalies' dreams Jets sniper's release commands attention

By: Mike McIntyre

Picture, if you will, a group of the NHL’s best goaltenders, all seated in a circle in the same room. In the middle sits a television set, playing a montage of Patrik Laine goals on an endless loop.

They’re here to relive their nightmares, and to offer up support for each other.

"I thought I had the angle cut down," one says. He instinctively turns his head, looks behind him and reaches for his water bottle, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

"Me too. There was absolutely no room for him to shoot that puck. No room," another says, his voice trailing off.

This scenario is, of course, pure fiction. But you can almost envision it, given the trail of damage the Winnipeg Jets forward is leaving in his wake these days.

Game after game, city after city, goalie after goalie, there appears to be a collective frustration and amazement at what the 19-year-old sophomore Finnish sniper is doing.

We take you back to the Big Apple last week, where one of the greatest netminders of his generation had just watched Laine score every goal in a 3-0 Winnipeg Jets win over the New York Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist was beaten, cleanly, twice. The third goal was into an empty net — which is what Laine must feel like he’s looking at every time he’s shot the puck lately.

"Henrik, you face hundreds of players a year. What specifically about Patrik Laine stands out to you in trying to defend his shot?" one local scribe asked following the game. What followed was a fantastic analysis from the future Hockey Hall of Famer.

"Well, there’s a few players in the league that have a certain shot where they make you believe one thing but they do something different," Lundqvist said, pausing to shake his head at times. "When you leave one of the best shooters with no pressure, he’s going to pick you apart a little bit."

Keep in mind this isn’t some Saturday night beer-league goalie talking about being "picked apart." This is The King, winner of 430 of his 800 career NHL games.

"Twice he made me believe he was going glove. And he kind of had that late (move) where he lays over his hands to go blocker side instead," he said. "It was just wrong player, wrong place. He’s good. You gotta give it to him. He has that delay where he comes in when everybody’s low and nobody can step up on him. He reads it well."

Goalies are often the best at reading the play, and Lundqvist appeared in awe of how deceptive Laine can be. After all, he’s not surprising anyone. And nobody is going to confuse him for Jets teammate Nikolaj Ehlers in terms of raw speed. But Laine continues to find himself open — as he did Monday night in Washington against the Capitals, when he tied it up in the third period.

"I guess I’m so invisible in front of the net that nobody saw me," Laine said with his tongue in his cheek following the game.

Lundqvist said defending Laine is not as easy as some might think.

"He has a second way where, you know, usually he’s not the puck carrier. Someone else is coming in and pulls us back and we’re kind of deep in our zone. And then he comes in and everybody’s stuck. So he just walks in and picks his corner," Lundqvist said. "He uses his hands to kind of fake left, going right. I should know it. I kinda knew it. But he’s just a good shooter. You gotta give him credit."

Just two days later, the Free Press caught up with New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider following the morning skate. Laine, of course, would rip home the opening goal of the game early in the first period that night in an eventual one-goal Jets win. Once again, he was left all alone in the slot and made no mistake.

"Probably one of the best releases in the league. You’ve got to be aware of where he is at all times. Not cheat on him at all, make sure if he’s got the puck on his stick you have to play the shot," Schneider said. "You know, even then, he still might beat you."

Schneider added it takes a group effort to try to contain a threat such as Laine, but even that isn’t always enough.

There’s probably no goalie in the league who knows Laine better than Connor Hellebuyck. After all, the Jets netminder faces him on a daily basis. We asked him last week during the road trip how glad he is that Laine is on his team, not staring him down on a regular basis in games.

"Yeah, but I’m stopping them all day long in practice. You gotta ask him his secrets ’cuz I think I’ve figured him out," Winnipeg’s all-star goaltender joked in response.

At least we think he was joking. Of course, we have asked Laine what he’s doing to make so many good goalies look foolish.

"Just pure luck, I guess. I don’t know, man. That’s a good question. It’s kind of a secret, so I don’t want everybody to know that," the sniper said following his hat trick at Madison Square Garden.

More secrets. Which, we suppose, is good news for the Jets, and bad news for the rest of the league.

As the Laine tour reached the U.S. capital Monday night, the latest horde of media asked Jets head coach Paul Maurice if Laine had exceeded his expectations.

"Well yeah, man, he’s 19," Maurice said, almost incredulously. "He had 36 last year. Don’t know where he’s going to get to this year. There just aren’t very like this in the history of our game. We had another one on the other team, (Alex Ovechkin), which is a rarity. (Laine’s) been fantastic." https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/goal-scorers-deserve-praise-but-jets-wouldnt-be- winning-without-connor-hellebuyck-476705383.html

Jets wouldn't be winning without Hellebuyck

By: Paul Wiecek

A red-hot Patrik Laine has the league — and, in a podcast this week, even the venerable Hockey News — rethinking whether it should have been Laine, rather than Auston Matthews, who was the first overall draft pick in 2016.

Paul Maurice — at this point last year the odds-on favourite to be the next NHL head coach fired — is now being talked up as a potential Jack Adams Trophy winner as the league’s top head coach this season.

And Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler continues to get mentioned as a possible Hart Trophy candidate.

But after five weeks overseas, three of them spent covering the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, I returned home on the weekend to find the most valuable person in the Jets organization right now is the same person it’s been all season long: netminder Connor Hellebuyck.

For all the praise being heaped right now, quite rightly, on people such as Laine, Maurice and Wheeler, the play of Hellebuyck remains the foundation upon which everything this Jets team has accomplished so far this season — and will accomplish the rest of the way — has been built.

There was nothing ever so wrong with this Jets team that reliable goaltending couldn’t fix, and Hellebuyck has proven that point this season with a level of play that has floated all boats, including Laine’s, Maurice’s and Wheeler’s.

Case in point: that 3-2 overtime loss to the Capitals in Washington Monday night.

While Laine got credit for scoring the game-tying goal in the third period, Hellebuyck was the only reason the game was still close enough for it to matter at that point, turning away 25 of 27 shots through the first two periods, most of them of the point-blank, Buff-might-as-well-buy-a- popcorn-if-he’s-just-going-to-watch-the-game-tonight variety.

On a night the Jets neither worked hard enough nor played well enough, they still earned one point in a very difficult building against a very challenging team, not because Laine scored his 41st of the season, but because Hellebuyck prevented the Caps from scoring even more than they did.

By night’s end, Hellebuyck had turned away 40 Washington shots and was, as he has been so many nights this season, Winnipeg’s most valuable player.

It has been that way all season long for a netminder who is third in the league in wins (35) and shutouts (six) and in the top 10 in goals-against average (2.39).

If you’re looking for the biggest difference between the also-rans that these Jets were last year and the legitimate contenders they are this year, it’s right there in Hellebuyck’s numbers.

Now, none of this is meant to take away from the exemplary work Laine, Maurice, Wheeler and everyone else in this Jets organization has done this season. This team is having a remarkable year precisely because they have been a remarkable team, from grinders such as Matt Hendricks all the way to snipers such as Laine, all pulling in the same direction.

But ask yourself this: where would this team be right now if Hellebuyck had not somehow — hard work? good luck? sorcery? — transformed himself last summer from the woefully inconsistent netminder he was in 2016-17 to one of the league’s elite goaltenders this season?

I’ll tell you where they’d be — in the exact same place they were at this point last season, out of the playoff race and wondering again how it all went so wrong.

It is worth remembering the Jets’ goaltending plan coming into this season was to have Steve Mason — signed as a free agent last summer — carry much of the workload, taking the pressure off Hellebuyck and giving the young netminder the kind of time and space to slowly develop the game that he never had last season.

The gaping holes in that plan were exposed on opening night when Mason never even made it through his first regular-season game as a Jet, getting yanked early in the third period after giving up five goals on 20 shots to the Toronto Maple Leafs in what went into the books as an embarrassing 7-2 season-opening shellacking.

Mason got rocked again in the Jets’ second game of the season, giving up six goals in a loss to the , and it’s basically been all Hellebuyck almost all of the time ever since.

Mercifully for the Jets and their fans, Hellebuyck has been equal to the task.

Because if you add a seemingly never-ending series of injuries to Mason’s inconsistent play this season, Mason would have been an unmitigated disaster for the Jets if Hellebuyck had not stepped into the void and filled it in a way he was never able to last season.

As it is, Mason is mostly an afterthought and a forgotten mistake, albeit an expensive one: US$4.1 million per season on the Jets books for this season and next.

Indeed, you could argue the biggest save Hellebuyck made this season was the credibility of Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, who would be getting crucified right now if he had wasted yet another promising season on lousy goaltending by betting, wrongly, on Mason as his solution.

Instead, everyone has forgotten all about the Mason snafu and is instead heralding Cheveldayoff as a genius for the way he has drafted and developed the Jets into a contender that yet another national hockey writer — Sportsnet’s Sean McIndoe — this week picked as this year’s Stanley Cup champion.

I think the might still have something to say about that, but it says a lot that a Jets team that has never won a playoff game through six-plus seasons of existence is suddenly being picked to win 16 of them this spring en route to a Stanley Cup hoisting at Portage and Main.

And yet, why not?

These guys are for real. They’ve got an elite goal scorer in Laine, a strong leader in Wheeler and a gentle hand on the tiller in Maurice.

But more than anything, they’ve got in Hellebuyck exactly the kind of elite goaltending that is the cornerstone of every great playoff run.

Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/preds-extend-division-lead-over-jets

Preds extend division lead over Jets

By Ken Wiebe

NASHVILLE – So much for that breather Connor Hellebuyck was planning to enjoy.

As the Winnipeg Jets closed out a six-game road trip with a date with the Nashville Predators, resting the starting goalie was a storyline that wasn’t going to generate much interest.

The Jets were playing the second game of a back-to-back and after going 3-1-1 to start the swing, giving Michael Hutchinson his third NHL start of the season made plenty of sense.

A well-rested Nashville Predators squad peppered Hutchinson in the early going and built a 3-0 lead before the game was nine minutes old, thanks to a pair of shorthanded goals scored 34 seconds apart.

“It’s just a bounce that happens during the season, nothing to worry about,” Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien after his team fell 3-1 on Tuesday at Bridgestone Arena. “It happens through the year. You’re going to have a game like that where things just go in and you get chasing.”

Jets head coach Paul Maurice called a timeout at 8:49 of the first period – after that third Predators goal – and that’s when things took a bit of a strange turn.

Just as play was about to resume and after a brief chat with Jets assistant coach Jamie Kompon, Maurice told the officials to hang on since he was planning to make a goaltending change.

But this was not pulling the goalie to provide a spark or to try and change the momentum, since Hutchinson had turned aside 12 shots already and made several key stops as he was under siege.

Usually when a head coach plans to rest his starting goalie, circumstances have to be pretty serious to consider making a switch.

Turns out it was.

During the timeout, Hutchinson had a conversation with Jets athletic therapist Brad Shaw.

Earlier in the first period, Hutchinson – who recently missed six games with a concussion – was on the receiving end of some contact that eventually led to him shaking his mask off.

“(Hutchinson) did not receive a concussion diagnosis after the game. He’ll go back and get evaluated (on Wednesday),” said Maurice. “Hutchinson went down to (Brad) Shaw because he wasn’t right and that was it. (Hutchinson) was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be able to continue.”

Hellebuyck stood tall and kept the Jets within striking distance, finishing with 30 saves in relief.

The Jets slipped to 41-19-10 on the season, are now eight points behind the Predators in the chase for top spot in the Central Division standings (with Nashville holding a game in hand).

The Jets remain seven points up on the Minnesota Wild in the race for second place.

Jets goalie Steve Mason is already sidelined for two-to-three weeks with a knee injury (following two concussions of his own), but Maurice said it was too early to tell if the Jets will recall Eric Comrie from the Manitoba Moose for Thursday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Kevin Fiala opened the scoring for the Predators, while Austin Watson and Viktor Arvidsson provided the shorthanded markers.

The Jets entered the contest without seven players on the active roster – Mason, defencemen Jacob Trouba (ankle), Toby Enstrom (lower body) and Dmitry Kulikov (upper body) and forwards Mark Scheifele (upper body), Adam Lowry (upper body) and Matt Hendricks (lower body).

That number grew before the pre-game warm-up was over, as centre Paul Stastny was a late scratch with a suspected lower-body injury.

“It was tight (Tuesday) morning, but he thought he would be able to go,” said Maurice. “It tightened up on him in the warm-up.”

With Marko Dano already back in the lineup after Hendricks was hurt against the Washington Capitals on Monday, Shawn Matthias was activated from injured reserve and forced into action when Stastny was scratched.

Matthias last played on Jan. 12, when he suffered an upper-body injury against the Blackhawks and adding a layer to his challenge was the fact he didn’t even dress for the pre-game warm-up. The Jets got a power-play marker from Kyle Connor 68 seconds into the third period to break up the shutout bid for Pekka Rinne.

“It was nice to see that we didn’t quit,” said Jets forward Mathieu Perreault. “We had some fight back in us and actually gave ourselves a chance.”

Jets winger Patrik Laine chipped in an assist on the goal to extend his point streak to 13 games and he’s produced 16 goals and 23 points during that span.

After going 3-2-1 on the road trip, the Jets are set to open a six-game homestand on Thursday and they’ll play eight of the final 12 contests at Bell MTS Place.

“I saw a team that was down about half of their players and playing the back end of a back-to- back. We knew the first was going to be tough for us and (the Predators) came out hot – similar to what we do to teams in our building that are coming in on back-to-backs,” said Jets captain Blake Wheeler, who moved back to centre and chipped in an assist. “We didn’t quite have our legs under us in the first. I’m so proud of our guys. Name a team in the league that is down half of their D-corps and three or their four centres and two goaltenders.

“There are nights you make excuses to help make yourself feel better. There are nights when the reality is that you’re playing against a loaded deck. Our guys fought, man. You take away that bad power play and it’s a 1-0 hockey game, a 1-1 hockey game. The disappointing part is that we didn’t keep it within striking distance.”

Associated Press https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/pekka-rinne-makes-32-saves-as-predators- beat-jets-3-1/article38285297/

Pekka Rinne makes 32 saves as Predators beat Jets 3-1

BY JIM DIAMOND

Pekka Rinne made 32 saves and the surging Nashville Predators scored two short-handed goals in beating the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 on Tuesday night to tie for the top spot in the NHL standings.

Kevin Fiala, Austin Watson and Viktor Arvidsson had the goals for Nashville, which has won 11 of 12.

The Predators reached 100 points in 69 games, the fastest mark in franchise history. The defending Western Conference champions are even with Eastern Conference-leading Tampa Bay – and Nashville has played one fewer game.

Kyle Connor scored for the Jets, losers of three straight. Winnipeg fell eight points behind the first-place Predators in the Central Division.

Nashville scored three goals before the game was nine minutes old. Playing the finale of a six- game road trip, their longest of the season, and their second game in two nights, the Jets came out sluggish against the speedy Predators.

Fiala scored the first goal at 2:48 of the opening period.

Roman Josi carried the puck up centre ice before sending a pass to Kyle Turris on the right side. Turris returned the pass to Josi as he continued through the slot and he immediately fed a trailing Fiala with a backhand pass. He had an open net, and he buried a snap shot up high for his 22nd goal of the season.

Watson and Arvidsson scored short-handed goals 34 seconds apart on the same kill to make it 3-0. It was the first time in Predators history that they scored short-handed twice on the same power play.

Jets coach Paul Maurice called a basketball-style timeout following Arvidsson's goal. Following the stoppage, Connor Hellebuyck took over in goal for starter Michael Hutchinson. After the first period, the team announced that Hutchinson would not return due to an upper-body injury. Hutchinson stopped 12 of the 15 shots he faced in 8:45 of action.

Nashville poured 24 shots on the Winnipeg net in the first, its most in a period this season.

Hellebuyck made 30 saves in relief.

Connor got Winnipeg on the scoreboard at 1:08 of the third with a power-play goal when he tapped in the rebound of Blake Wheeler's shot from the right side.

Patrik Laine picked up an assist on Connor's goal, extending his franchise-record point streak to 13 games.

Watson also did some strong work in his defensive zone to help Rinne. With just more than eight minutes gone in the third, he cleared a puck that was headed into the net after Rinne got a piece of a shot from Laine.

NOTES: Watson's four short-handed goals this season place him one behind NHL leader Aleksander Barkov of the . ... Nashville is 34-3-5 when scoring first. ... Winnipeg successfully killed off all three Nashville power plays. The Jets have not allowed an opponent to score on the man advantage in five of their last six games. ... Jets C Paul Stastny was a late scratch.

UP NEXT Jets: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. Predators: At the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.

Yahoo Sports http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/five-keys-to-jets-and-predators

Predators set franchise record with two shorties in 34 seconds versus Jets

By Kyle Cantlon Puck Daddy

The Nashville Predators’ penalty kill was giving the Winnipeg jets some problems on Tuesday, to put it lightly.

With a 1-0 lead and Mike Fisher marinating in the penalty box after being called for tripping, Nashville ripped off two shorthanded goals in a 34-second span on the same Winnipeg powerplay. The speedy tallies set a new franchise standard for the Preds.

First, Austin Watson busted down the wing and zipped one by Michael Hutchinson for his fourth short-handed goal of the season. Before the Jets could soothe the sting, Viktor Arvidsson took advantage of some seriously sloppy Winnipeg puck management and followed up Watson’s effort with a tally just 34 ticks later to put Nashville up 3-0 early.

The goals also set a franchise record for the fastest combo of shorthanded goals — crushing the 10-year-old mark of 2:40 set in 2008 against the Calgary Flames.

Nashville and Winnipeg entered the matchup sitting in first and second spots, respectively, in the Central Division, and look poised to meet in the second round of the NHL playoffs in what would be maybe the most anticipated series of the postseason. The Preds have started to pull away as of late, however, boasting a six-point lead over the Jets entering Tuesday.

With Tampa Bay’s shocking 7-4 loss to the Senators and Nashville’s 3-1 victory over Winnipeg, the Predators take over first place in the NHL standings and hit the 100-point plateau for the sixth time since the club joined the league in 1998.

The Tennessean https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nhl/predators/2018/03/14/nashville-predators-nhl- standings-central-division-presidents-trophy/423000002/

NHL-leading Predators maintaining perspective, but enjoying success

By Adam Vingan, USA TODAY NETWORK

The Predators are tied with the with 100 points, but have played one fewer game. Adam Vingan/USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee

Until recently, the Predators' list of major franchise accomplishments was modest at best.

Before reaching the Stanley Cup Final last season, there wasn't a remarkable achievement on their resume. Even after that, it's still pretty bare.

The Predators never have won a Central Division title. They've challenged for the Presidents' Trophy a few times in their history but haven't earned it. The absence of a championship is obvious.

More: Predators take over first place in NHL, build Central cushion by beating Jets

But based on their continued dominance this season, there's a real possibility that the Predators, who lead their division and the NHL, could pull off all three by June.

"It's a goal that we can say out loud," Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne said. "It's something that we haven't done before here. That would mean a lot to all of us. ... There's not too many banners in here, and that would be great. I think that's our goal, and obviously right now, things are going (well) for us."

By disposing of the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, the Predators increased their Central Division lead to eight points with a game in hand. Unless Nashville suffers an unlikely collapse, that should be locked up.

The Predators, who have won 11 of 12, also reached the 100-point threshold for the sixth time, outdoing the previous five teams in terms of speed. This year's group required four fewer games to get there than the 2006-07 team, which probably won't hold the franchise's best record (110 points) for much longer.

More: Who would Predators play if NHL Stanley Cup playoffs started today?

"With the frequency that we play, the standings and the points change every day," Predators forward Austin Watson said. "It's something that's a point of emphasis for us. We want to be as good as we possibly can to finish the regular season out."

It's difficult to find areas in need of improvement without nitpicking. When even your shorthanded unit is unstoppable offensively, what is there to complain about?

"You don't know how the end of the season is going to play out," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "We want to keep winning hockey games and doing our best to secure home ice for as many rounds as we can."

The Predators aren't invincible, though it feels that way sometimes. Nothing seems to faze them, the sign of an experienced team that knows what's at stake.

They're on top of their game and the league, but remain unsatisfied.

"You want to get better and better throughout the year and climb up the standings," Predators captain Roman Josi said. "To be in the first in the league, we can definitely enjoy that for a couple minutes, but then it's day to day after that."

NHL.com https://www.nhl.com/news/winnipeg-jets-nashville-predators-game-recap/c-296921896

Predators extend Central lead with win against Jets Three goals in first, Rinne's 32 saves help Nashville move eight points ahead by Robby Stanley / NHL.com Correspondent

NASHVILLE -- The Nashville Predators extended their Central Division lead to eight points with a 3-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.

Pekka Rinne made 32 saves for Nashville (45-14-10), which scored three goals (two shorthanded) in the first 8:49 of the game.

The Predators are tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning atop the NHL standings with 100 points. The Lightning lost 7-4 against the on Tuesday.

"I feel like even as a team and me too personally, I think it's a goal that we can say out loud," Rinne said of finishing first in the NHL. "It's something that we haven't done before here. That would mean a lot to all of us, for our fans too.

"This building, there's not too many banners in here, and that would be great. I think that's our goal. Obviously right now, things are going for us. If I understood correctly, Tampa lost tonight. So, that was good for us."

Kyle Connor scored for Winnipeg (41-19-10), and Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves in relief after Michael Hutchinson allowed three goals on 15 shots.

"It was a tough game for us tonight, but they handled it like men," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "You never like to lose. I don't care what your lineup looks like, but you want to walk away feeling like even if you weren't good that you [played] hard. They gave what they had."

Kevin Fiala gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 2:48 of the first period on a wrist shot from the slot. Roman Josi made a backhand pass on the rush to Fiala for his 22nd goal.

"The two points, we had marked it as a game that had to go our way as we sit here and push toward it late in the season in trying to battle for what we need to do in order to better ourselves for the [Stanley Cup Playoffs]," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. "Obviously the division, the conference, those are things we talk about, so the two points were very important."

Austin Watson made it 2-0 at 8:15 with a shorthanded goal. It was his 12th goal of the season.

Viktor Arvidsson scored shorthanded 34 seconds later on a one-timer from the slot to make it 3- 0.

"A penalty kill has to outwork the power play," Watson said. "We have less guys on the ice, we have to put that much extra effort into it. I think when you do that and when you're being aggressive and forcing turnovers, sometimes the puck can get behind the other team and you get a chance to go on a little bit of an odd-man rush."

Connor scored for the Jets to make it 3-1 at 1:08 of the third period. It was his 23rd goal.

Patrik Laine extended his point streak to 13 games on Connor's goal.

Goal of the game Watson's goal at 8:15 of the first period.

Save of the game Rinne's save against Nikolaj Ehlers at 12:04 of the second period.

Highlight of the game Arvidsson's goal at 8:49 of the first period.

They said it "You know what, the power play is running No. 2 in the National Hockey League. It's going to have an off night every once in a while. (We) still found a way to score a big goal, even when your confidence gets rocked a little bit. Some real good determination to make that go to 3-1, so it'll be fine." -- Jets coach Paul Maurice

"It's big. Just where they are in the standings too, they're in second place. We knew it was a big game to distance them a little bit more. They're a tough team to play. We've had some tough games against them, and it's huge for us to get a couple wins." -- Predators defenseman Roman Josi

Need to know Hutchinson left the game because of an upper-body injury after Arvidsson's goal. He did not receive a concussion diagnosis, according to Maurice. He will be re-evaluated Wednesday. … The Jets were without forward Paul Stastny, who Maurice said "stiffened up" during warmups. … Predators forward Calle Jarnkrok left the game in the third period after a hit from Jets forward Andrew Copp and did not return. … The shorthanded goals by Watson and Arvidsson were the first time in Predators history they have scored two shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill. … The Predators played their 69th game, which is the fewest amount of games they've needed to reach 100 points in their history. The previous mark was 73 games, set in 2006-07.

What's next Jets: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, TSN3, NHL.TV) Predators: At the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; FS-TN, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV) https://www.nhl.com/news/patrik-laine-aims-for-jimmy-carson-teenage-goals-record/c- 296901032

Laine's scoring surge impresses Carson Jets forward taking aim at former King's NHL record for goals by teenager by Lisa Dillman @reallisa / NHL.com Staff Writer

During his NHL career, Jimmy Carson was always modest to a fault about his achievements; especially true now that his League record for goals scored as a teenager is coming back into focus, thanks to forward Patrik Laine's recent scoring surge with the Winnipeg Jets.

Carson is the father of four children and suggested none of them are aware he scored 92 goals with the before his 20th birthday.

"Probably not," Carson, 49, said Monday in a telephone interview. "I would say no."

Laine, who turns 20 on April 19, scored his 41st goal of the season and 77th in 142 games in a 3-2 overtime loss at the Washington Capitals on Monday. He broke a tie with () and Brian Bellows (Minnesota North Stars) and took sole possession of third place on the teenage scoring list, behind Carson and Dale Hawerchuk, who had 85 goals with the original Winnipeg Jets.

Laine would need to score 16 goals in his final 13 games this season to break Carson's record.

Carson said he began receiving emails and texts about his record after Laine scored his 40th goal of the season in a 2-1 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

"It's quite an accomplishment," Carson said. "Probably if he [Laine] played in my era, he would have scored even more. It's very tough to compare eras.

"But I've watched enough to know that hockey is a lot tighter now than it was. Nowadays you hear about people scoring 20, 30 goals and that's an amazing season. Back when I played, if you scored 50 and you went back to 30, you were a dog."

The Kings played in the wide-open, offense-first Smythe Division in those days. Carson scored 37 goals in 1986-87, his rookie season.

In 1987-88, Carson had his best NHL season, with 107 points (55 goals, 52 assists), four points behind future Hall of Famer Luc Robitaille, who led Los Angeles with 111 points (53 goals, 58 assists).

At the time, the teenage goal-scoring record didn't get much attention.

"It's one of those things where you're in the moment and having fun, playing with great players and it's just happening," Carson said. "I never even knew that.

"I remember at the time it was a bigger deal that I was the second American to score 50. Bobby Carpenter was the first (when he scored 53 for the Washington Capitals in 1984-85)."

At that time, the Kings were capable of allowing 10 goals in a loss and scoring eight goals to win their next game. Carson had six points (four goals, two assists) in a 9-7 win against the Calgary Flames on March 30, 1988.

"I had a fifth goal that was disallowed, called offside or something," Carson said. "I was coming down the right wing and shot it and they said, 'No goal.' I said, 'Come on, man, how often do you get the chance to get five?' That's what I remember about that game. Wide open at the Fabulous Forum."

Carson began his Kings career on a line with Dave Taylor and Morris Lukowich. By the end of the first season, he was playing with another rookie, Robitaille, and Taylor, an accomplished veteran.

"Luc and I had great chemistry," Carson said. "It started when we played against each other in the Quebec League. He was in Hull, and I was in Verdun and we played in the final. I like to remind him that we won.

"I knew some French and remember meeting this French kid from Montreal who I had played against. I remember initially I would speak French to him and he would just look at me. It was cool."

When Carson first joined the Kings at training camp he was the youngest player in the League at 18 years, two months. The Kings were coming off a 54-point performance in 1985-86, so rookies like Carson, Robitaille and defenseman Steve Duchesne were given more opportunities and playing time they may not have received elsewhere.

"I remember going to Kings training camp and thinking, 'I'm not going back to juniors. I'm going to make this team,' " Carson said. "Once I got that in my head, I'm like, 'OK, I can play here.' "

Robitaille won the Calder Trophy as the League's Rookie of the Year in 1986-87. Carson, selected No. 2 by the Kings in the 1986 NHL Draft, finished third in Calder Trophy voting.

On Aug. 9, 1988, the Kings acquired Gretzky, and Marty McSorley from the Oilers for Carson, Martin Gelinas, three first-round NHL Draft picks and $15 million. It remains one of the biggest trades in the history of professional sports.

Video: Oilers send franchise icon Wayne Gretzky to the Kings

Carson played for the Kings (twice), the Oilers, , and , finishing his NHL career with the Whalers in 1995-96. He had 561 points (275 goals, 286 assists) in 626 games.

"So much in life or business or in pro sports, I came into a good situation, playing with the players I did and a coach [Pat Quinn] who gave me a chance right away," Carson said. "I often think I could have gone to another organization who sent me to the minors or back to juniors. That stuff happens.

"I've had this conversation with Luc before. If Luc had gone to another team -- or any player, for that matter -- you may not have that opportunity or shot to make an impact. I was grateful and fortunate to be in the right place at the right time."

Carson, who works in the financial services industry, said his family members aren't as impressed by his career accomplishments as others are.

Two of his kids are out of the family home in Rochester, ; Charlie, the oldest, will be graduating from Kalamazoo College in the spring, and John is at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Andrew is a senior in high school and daughter Mia is 13.

"They know their dad played pro hockey," he said. "It's fine by me. I'm more interested in their stuff."

Sportsnet,ca https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/jets-can-beat-number-one-ranked-predators/ (VIDEO LINK)

How Jets can beat the number-one ranked Predators

Colby Armstrong looks at the success of the Nashville Predators and how a contender like the Winnipeg Jets could beat them.

TSN.ca https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/jets-come-out-flat-and-preds-take-full-advantage~1346363 (VIDEO LINK)

Jets come out flat and Preds take full advantage

For the third time in four games against the Predators the Jets came out on the losing end, Mike Johnson takes a closer look at Winnipeg's stale start to the game and says Nashville took full advantage.

TSN 1290 (AUDIO LINKS) https://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/green-jets-need-to-use-speed-in-ot-1.1025830

Green: Jets need to use speed in OT

TSN 1290 Jets analyst Josh Green joined host Kevin Olszewski to recap Winnipeg's loss to Washington on Monday and look ahead to a Tuesday clash with the Nashville Predators. www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/injury-depleted-jets-fall-to-predators-in-road-trip-finale/c- 296925112

Injury-depleted Jets fall to Predators in road trip finale Stastny injured in warm-up, Hutchinson leaves game with upper-body injury by Mitchell Clinton @MitchellClinton / WinnipegJets.com

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - After a gruelling 10 days on the road, the Winnipeg Jets were hit with more adversity before the puck dropped on the sixth and final stop in Nashville.

Paul Stastny was injured in warm-up and was unavailable for the game, and before the first period was over, the Jets had also lost goaltender Michael Hutchinson to an upper-body injury.

Nashville jumped on the Jets, building a 3-0 lead in the opening 8:49, and handed the Jets a 3-1 loss to close out the road trip.

But while the Jets overall record dropped to 41-19-10 loss, captain Blake Wheeler was proud of his team.

"Name a team in the league that's down half their D- corps, and three of their four centres, and two goaltenders," Wheeler said post-game about an injury list that is now nine names long.

"There are nights you make excuses to make yourself feel better, and there are nights when the reality of the situation is that you're playing against a loaded deck. Our guys fought, man."

With Stastny out, Wheeler moved back to the middle between Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine, a trio that combined for 11 shots on goal.

"It changes a lot of what you do. We're banged up right now. Stastny has been a real big piece for us since we got him," said Wheeler. "It takes some of the wind out of your sails going into the game. But I thought Shawn Matthias came in, and gave us a heck of an effort. He got the tap about five minutes before game time, and gave us a real good effort. Everyone stepped up, and I'm proud of our guys."

Kyle Connor had Winnipeg's lone goal, which came on the power play in the third period. Hutchinson made 12 saves on 15 shots before coming out, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 30 shots he faced in relief.

The Predators are now eight points up on Winnipeg for top spot in the Central Division.

"I remember the last half of that game. In a tough situation, I really liked the way we stayed with it," said head coach Paul Maurice. "There wasn't anything easy there for us tonight. The bench was good. We kept battling. We kind of shut the game down well in the second period, which is hard to do, and had a good push in the third. That's what I'm taking from this one."

Shortly after Bryan Little's hooking penalty expired, Kevin Fiala opened the scoring for Nashville. After Roman Josi dished off to Kyle Turris to enter the Winnipeg zone, Turris hit Josi with a return pass. Josi's backhand feed to the slot went off a skate to Fiala in the slot, where the left-winger beat Michael Hutchinson top corner for his 22nd of the campaign.

The Jets would get a power play of their own, but Nashville would further increase their lead, with shorthanded goals 34 seconds apart from Austin Watson and Viktor Arvidsson made it 3-0 just before the halfway mark of the first.

"We've been practicing for a couple months now in the same spot for breakouts and in-zone stuff," said Mathieu Perreault. "Obviously when you get thrown in different spots on the break out and zone it's an adjustment for a lot of guys.

"It was nice to see we didn't quit. We had some fight back in us. We gave ourselves a chance."

Following Arvidsson's goal, Hutchinson was pulled from the game with an upper-body injury.

After a scoreless second period, where the Jets outshot Nashville 12-11, Winnipeg would take advantage of a Kyle Turris holding the stick penalty just 1:08 into the third.

When Wheeler's initial shot was stopped by Pekka Rinne, Connor was ready to bang home his 25th of the season. Wheeler's assist was his 59th, while Laine's secondary assist extended his point streak to 13 games.

The Jets finish the season-long road trip with a record of 3-2-1, and now head back to Bell MTS Place for a six-game home stand, beginning Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.

"We're in a good spot. We have to get healthy. The guys that have been playing here are all pretty beat up and pretty exhausted," said Wheeler. "We have to get some bodies back, get some home cooking, and get in front of our home building again."

ICE CHIPS Stastny's injury, described as something that "stiffened up" on the 32-year-old, was something that sprung up early in the day, and didn't get better as the day went on, according to Maurice.

With Matt Hendricks already ruled out due to an injury last night in Washington, Shawn Matthias - who didn't take warm up - saw his first game action since Jan. 12, when he sustained an upper-body injury that kept him out 24 games.

Michael Hutchinson was not given a concussion diagnosis, but will be re-evaluated tomorrow.