Jets push past Predators with Pionk's overtime winner

NASHVILLE - It's hard to imagine how one face-off can sum up an entire team's performance, but it seems the one that Adam Lowry put in a first, second, and third effort to pull the puck back to Josh Morrissey in the third period does exactly that.
With the team trailing 2-1, and the game barely into the second half of the third, Lowry won a critical offensive zone face-off, then drove to the net and potted a rebound to tie the game at two.
A game the Jets would go on to win in overtime, thanks to Neal Pionk.
"I think that's the trust in your teammates that we talk about," Lowry said. "You don't have to necessarily do something uncharacteristic. You just have to keep doing your job and try to excel at it."

It was a massive victory for the Jets, who now lead the Predators by five points for the final wildcard spot - even with Nashville earning a point with the overtime loss.
The victory didn't come easy, as the Jets once again controlled play but had to erase deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 before winning it at three-on-three.
"We didn't sag, we just kind of kept confident," said Josh Morrissey, who had two assists in the game. "We're doing a lot of good things, we feel it's right there for us and we can win with a game like we're playing so it was nice to stick with it and get rewarded in overtime."
Nikolaj Ehlers had the other goal for the Jets, who have now won three of their past four road games and now sit 39-28-3 on the season.

It was just nice to get the reward after playing so well against Boston and Carolina, and being left with no points to show for it after those two games.
"You'd love to win in regulation and take all two, but if we take care of business on our end, when we play them again we'll put ourselves in the driver's seat to control our own destiny," said Lowry. "We're really focused on winning games, whether it's in regulation or if it takes a little bit extra, so be it."
Two missed chances in the offensive zone came back to burn the Jets in the first. Shortly before Cody Glass opened the scoring at 5:26 - with his stick being the second in a double deflection of a Cal Foote point shot - Blake Wheeler misfired on a one-timer from the slot, and Pierre-Luc Dubois, in his return to the line-up, had a backdoor pass bobble off his stick and into the corner.
Winnipeg outshot Nashville 13-3 in the first period and had two power play chances, but were held off the scoreboard for the fourth straight period overall - dating back Thursday's loss to Boston.
The second period brought more of the same for the Jets, who had a three-on-one and a two-on-one rush, with neither resulting in a shot on goal.
They outshot Nashville again in the middle frame, but Mark Scheifele's slamming of his stick against the glass as the buzzer went to end the second summed up the frustration felt by the Jets in that moment.
No matter the frustration level, the Jets kept at it.
"We're spending a lot of time in their zone and the shots weren't getting through," said head coach Rick Bowness. "The guys just stayed with it, and we kept saying to just keep putting pucks on the net and see what happens. Give the guys credit because they found a way to win."

Finally, the dam broke in the third, as Nikolaj Ehlers pounded his eighth of the season, a laser beam from the left circle, into the top corner on Juuse Saros' glove side. The goal came 6:17 into the third.
"it was a great shot by Nik," said Bowness. "We were pretty happy with our overall game, team-game for 60 minutes. We were very confident that we keep doing what we're doing, the forecheck was working, we had some good looks off the rush. Finally, the puck went in."
Nashville responded 34 seconds later, as Luke Evangelista's shot from the slot went off the skate of Brenden Dillon, and trickled just past the extended right leg of Connor Hellebuyck to put the Predators back in front 2-1.
Lowry got the Jets back to even footing with 9:45 left in regulation. His second effort to win an offensive zone face-off got the puck back to Josh Morrissey at the point, and when Saros kicked out a small rebound off Morrissey's shot, Lowry was there to tuck it in for his ninth of the season.
It was a phone call to an old friend, former assistant coach Todd Woodcroft - who Lowry spent a lot of time on face-offs with from 2016-2020 - that rejuvenated Lowry in the dot.
He went from 18 percent against Boston to winning 80 percent against Nashville, including that critical draw.
"I think it helped, it was just a couple minor adjustments that allowed me to kind of come through the dot a little better," said Lowry. "To be rewarded after making those changes, that was huge. Our line gives up that kind of deflating goal after we tie it up and in these tight games you don't want to be the reason you lose, right, so it was huge for us to get one back."
Dubois - playing in his first game since March 6 after an upper-body injury - had a chance to win it in regulation on a partial breakaway late in regulation. Saros kicked it aside, but it was Dubois that set up a surging Pionk for the backdoor tap in to seal the 3-2 win just 55 seconds into overtime.

"He had that breakaway near the end of regulation, we were hoping that one went in," said Bowness. "When he's skating like that, he's a powerful guy and he's tough to knock off the puck. He made a great play there at the end."
The Jets will have to ramp it up again on Sunday night, as they close out a short two-game road trip against St. Louis.
"Playing meaningful games that have more on the line is why you work hard for as long as we do in the off-season," said Morrissey. "Pressure's all a matter of perspective. Regardless of the outcome of this game, there's still quite a bit of hockey left to play.
"Obviously, you'd love to come in and get two points and give them none. That's the reality at this time of year but I'd rather play in games that mean something."