Granlund gives Predators OT win against Jets

WINNIPEG-- Mikael Granlund scored 1:11 into overtime to give the Nashville Predators a 2-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place on Tuesday.

"I think I missed that shot quite a bit but it still went in," Granlund said. "Sometimes those pucks go in. But it was a big extra point for us and now we just move on to the next one. And we've got to stack up these points."
Nick Bonino scored, and Juuse Saros made 33 saves for the Predators (25-20-7) who have won three of their past four games and tied the Jets for fourth place in the Central Division.
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"I felt good even though they got the first one early," Saros said. "And then guys sacrificed, we had some big blocks there, they let me see the puck very well, so, yeah, it felt good."
Mason Appleton scored, and Connor Hellebuyck made 34 saves for the Jets (26-23-5), who are three points out of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
"They did a good job blocking shots," Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler said. "We didn't get everything through [and] probably didn't have as much net-front traffic as we could have. Just couldn't capitalize."
Appleton scored on a drive to the net to make it 1-0 at 2:46 of the first period.

"He came over with a lot of heat," linemate Nikolaj Ehlers said. "He's a smart player, he makes some plays, he plays hard and creates battles and loose pucks. He's very fun to play with."
Bonino tied it 1-1 with a one-timer at 17:39 of the first period.
"Just a great play from Rocco [Grimaldi] to get the puck back," Bonino said. "[Craig Smith] starts it with a forecheck just in the zone, and sometimes you just get a bounce like that."
Patrik Laine was awarded a penalty shot at 8:42 of the second period when he was hooked by Jarred Tinordi on a breakaway, but his backhand deke was saved by Saros.

They said it

"There wasn't a lot of free ice out there, but it was nice that we could find a way to win it, get ourselves back up after how we played on Saturday (in a 3-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights) and get off to a good start on the road trip." -- Predators coach John Hynes

"I think there's a ton of pride in our game defensively. That's why we've had so many tight games lately. When you defend the right way, that's when you should generate more offense and score more goals. But they're tough to come by, and they'll start falling for us." -- Jets forward Mason Appleton

Need to know

After playing at the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, Winnipeg plays six straight at home, where it is 12-12-3 this season and 2-7-2 in its past 11 games. ... Appleton has two goals in his past four games and three goals in 29 games this season. ... Saros has three wins in his past four starts.

What's next

Predators: At the Calgary Flames on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SN1, FS-TN, NHL.TV)
Jets: At the St. Louis Blues on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-MW, TSN3, NHL.TV)