Scheifele scores 40th goal in Jets' shutout win over Predators

WINNIPEG - Mark Scheifele picked a great time to reach 40 goals for the first time in his career.
The Jets forward, who hit a post in the first period, scored the eventual game winner for the Winnipeg Jets over the Nashville Predators by squeezing a wrister by Juuse Saros in the second period. The goal put the Jets up 1-0, and they'd ride that wave to a critical 2-0 win on Saturday night.
"Obviously a big game and a big time in the game, so obviously that made it feel even better," Scheifele said. "It was a big win for this team. You've just got to keep pushing."
The win put two points in the standings as the Jets (44-32-3) put the Predators three points behind them with three games to go.
Neal Pionk had the other goal for the Jets, while Connor Hellebuyck turned away 28 shots for his fourth shutout of the season, and 32nd of his career.

It was a total team effort from top to bottom, as the Jets fired 68 shot attempts at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick, compared to allowing just 20 against.
"I think it started in the first period and we just built," said head coach Rick Bowness. "Even on the bench we were saying 'Just keep doing what you're doing, don't get frustrated, stay in the fight, stay shift to shift, stay in the moment,' and we did a very good job of that. "

At one point of the first period, Nashville held a 7-2 edge in shots on goal, but Winnipeg ended the opening frame on a 5-1 run in terms of shots.
That momentum carried into the second, as the Jets sent line after line over the boards, hemming the Predators in their own end for numerous shifts in a row earning a standing ovation from the Canada Life Centre crowd.
About five minutes after that ovation, the Jets - and the fans - finally got their reward. Scheifele, after an exchange high in the Nashville zone with Vladislav Namestnikov, used the space in front of him to drive into the slot and rip a wrist shot. Juuse Saros got a piece of it, but not enough, as the puck clinked off the post and in to make it 1-0.
"(Blake Wheeler) had a great change in the O-zone for me and I got out there fresh and they were tired," said Scheifele. "It was the weak side guy who opened up the more space and when that guy's a threat it makes it tough for that guy to jump me, so (it) let me walk all the way in, and obviously happy to put it home."

The Jets outshot Nashville 20-5 in the middle frame, and that doesn't even include the post and crossbar that Nikolaj Ehlers hit.
"We played it simple. You chip pucks against a team like this with speed on the outside and you'll get that puck back," said Ehlers. "They're a very good team. Obviously, they have a lot of new guys, young guys, but they have some grit. They have the skill. They have the speed. They're a very, very good team."
Bowness felt the second period the Jets played might have been the best of the season.
"Clearly that game could have been 4-0 or 5-0 after two periods," Bowness said. "We knew they'd come out pretty good because they were feeling good about themselves. Once we started putting pressure on from the end of that first period, then we just kept with it for the remainder of the game."
Pionk made it 2-0 just over 90 seconds into the third, as he joined a rush that began with Blake Wheeler finding Nikolaj Ehlers up the left wing side. Ehlers spotted Pionk coming in late, and hit the seam pass, allowing the defenceman to wire home his 10th of the season from the high slot. It's the first time in Pionk's career that he's hit double-digits in goals.
"I knew he was coming," Ehlers said of Pionk. "So it was just a matter of letting those three guys go deep enough for him to be open for me. He comes in at a perfect spot and he rips that one home. It was nice."

Along with his assist (and the two times his shots found iron), Ehlers played 16:04 and had four shots on goal.
"That was one of his best games by far," said Bowness. "He was skating great and against a team like that that plays 1-1-3 in the neutral zone and they're standing there, you've got to get the D turning and you've got to get them into foot races. So, when you get them into foot races, you want to make sure you have the speed to get there and Nik gives us that speed."
The closest Nashville came to getting on the board was when Cody Glass hit the crossbar, but Hellebuyck kept everything else in front of him, backstopping the Jets to a massive win.
"He's a pretty damn good goalie and we're extremely lucky to have him," Ehlers said of Hellebuyck. "The way that he's played for us all year and the last couple of years, but especially this year, is pretty impressive."
Next up, the Jets close out the five-game home stand - and the home half of their schedule - against the San Jose Sharks on Monday. After that, the Jets finish the regular season schedule with road games in Minnesota and Colorado.
"We know what we need to do here the last three games," said Ehlers. "We will be ready for those."