The Nashville Predators, after a game they felt like they let slip away, wrap up a four-game road trip Saturday night when they take on the Central Division rivals Winnipeg Jets.
Nashville led 2-1 in Montreal on Thursday before the Canadiens’ Cole Caufield equalized with 20 seconds left in regulation. Caufield added the game-winner with three seconds left in the extra session, leaving the Predators with a 3-2 loss and a 1-1-1 record on their road trip.
“We need to win a game (in Winnipeg) and have a half-decent trip,” said Steven Stamkos, who scored his first goal of the season in the overtime loss.
Stamkos also noted that a disconcerting trend from last season is starting to emerge this season for the Predators, who last season posted their first sub-500 record since 2012-13. Nashville has scored just 14 goals in the first five games, and that includes back-to-back four-goal games to start the trip with a win at Ottawa (4-1) and a loss at Toronto (7-4).
Two of the goals against the Senators were empty nets. Stamkos knows the team will need to increase its scoring to be competitive.
“It looks like we’re trying to find an offense, but it’s a little hard to find,” he added.
Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros made 27 saves Thursday and has a .935 save percentage in four starts. He is 8-8-4 in 20 career games against the Jets, with a 2.50 goals-against average and .921 save percentage.
The Finnish goalie went 2-2-0 against the Jets last season, capped by a 2-1 home win on Feb. 27, when he stopped 22 of 23 shots.
Winnipeg returns home to face the Predators after picking up two wins on the East Coast, both by scores of 5-2, earlier this week. Against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, veteran center Mark Scheifele scored twice to give him five goals and eight points, both of which led the Jets in their first three games.
Those two points gave Scheifele 812 for his career, tying him for the franchise record with former teammate Blake Wheeler. His first chance to break the record will come as the Jets attempt to earn a fourth straight victory.
Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel noted that the Ontarian was the first player drafted by the Jets after the team’s departure from Atlanta, and that the seventh overall pick in the 2011 draft lived up to expectations.
“He’s a great player in this league. I think he’s finally really getting the recognition he deserves,” Arniel said.
Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck faced just 17 shots in Thursday’s win. He has allowed just four goals in his last two starts after giving up five in the season-opening loss to the Dallas Stars.
The two-time reigning Vezina Trophy winner has faced Nashville 29 times in his career, amassing a 17-9-2 record with a 2.42 GAA and .927 save percentage. He won both games against the Predators last season, including a 3-0 home win on Dec. 30 in which he made 22 saves.
–Field level media
