Jets clinch playoff berth with shootout win against Predators

WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Jets clinched a berth into the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 5-4 shootout win against the Nashville Predators at Bell MTS Place on Sunday.
Kyle Connor had goal and two assists, and Dustin Byfuglien and Bryan Little also scored for the Jets (46-19-10), who are five points behind the Predators for first place in the Central Division and have won five in a row. Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves.
Winnipeg failed to qualify for the playoffs the previous two seasons.

\[WATCH: All Predators vs. Jets highlights\]
"You have no idea," Jets captain Blake Wheeler said of the relief. "The worst part of the year has been having to watch these games that mean a lot, both coming down the stretch and into the playoffs. That stung, and unfortunately (we) have watched a lot of it. Just been biding our time for our opportunity."
Mark Scheifele scored the only goal in the shootout.

Nashville led 4-3 after two periods, but Wheeler tied the game 59 seconds into the third period on a rebound. It was Wheeler's 599th NHL point.
"Last time, I think we clinched on a loss in Colorado so it was kind of a strange feeling, and we were battling for the last month and a half of the season just to scrape in," Little said. "This time, it's nice to have some games left to prepare and get ready knowing we're playing for a longer season."
Roman Josi, Kyle Turris, Ryan Ellis and Viktor Arvidsson scored for Nashville (48-16-10), which has lost three straight. Juuse Saros made 43 saves.

"Today, I thought was our best of those three [losses]," Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. "It was a back-to-back situation against a really good team. There's nothing more we can say. I thought we battled hard. Both teams deserved a point. We're disappointed that we didn't get the second one, but it's a big point for us."
Josi's one-timer gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 10:09 of the first period.
Turris scored on the power play at 19:59 to make it 2-0.
Connor brought the Jets to 2-1, scoring his 29th on the power play at 3:47 of the second period. It tied Connor with Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser for the rookie goal-scoring lead.

Ellis restored the two-goal lead when he made it 3-1 at 6:43 of the second.
"Two of the top teams in the League," Ellis said. "They're a high-flying team. We think we're a high-flying team too. One team seems to score and the other one comes right back."
Copp appeared to make it 3-2 at 8:59, but the goal was waved off because of a distinct kicking motion, but Byfuglien scored at 11:29 with a shot from the point.
Little tied the game 3-3 during a 4-on-4 situation on a slap shot from the right hash marks at 13:53 of the second period.
Arvidsson gave the Predators a 4-3 lead with his 28th of the season at 15:18.

Goal of the game

Scheifele's shootout goal.

Save of the game

Hellebuyck's save against Filip Forsberg in the shootout.

Highlight of the game

Wheeler's goal 59 seconds into the third period.

They said it

"There's a lot of people shooting the puck out there. They got a lot of talent on their team. Our guys do a pretty good job scoring goals. I can't explain it. Both teams have good goaltending. Both teams played pretty good defense, but offense seems to rule the day." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette
"Sure, I'll give you that one. It was good. I also want to live in the moment. Even-keel is fine, as long as your heart rate is at 170 (beats per minute). We'd like to stay there. It's not sleeping through the games. Nobody gets too excited, you should be excited. We relaxed in the second period and got back to enjoying the game and the way that game was played. It was a fun environment. Good crowd, lots going on on the ice. Lots of great plays … all of it. It was all there. So, it was a fun game to be a part of." -- Jets coach Paul Maurice

Need to know

Forsberg has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 13 games. … Wheeler has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in a six-game point streak.

What's next

Predators:Host the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, FS-N, NHL.TV)
Jets:Host the Boston Bruins on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, NESN, NHL.TV)