Predators defeat Jets, end slide at four

NASHVILLE -- The Nashville Predators got their first win in five games, defeating the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.

Roman Josi had two assists and set the record for the most in Nashville history. His first assist gave him 357, passing David Legwand, in the defenseman's 720th game with the Predators.
"It's really cool, definitely," said Josi, the Nashville captain. "I've been very fortunate to play here for so long (11 seasons), in this great city in front of our great fans, amazing organization. I've had some amazing teammates. Really fortunate to be playing with so many great players in the past and now. It's definitely very special."

Mikael Granlund and Ryan Johansen each had a goal and an assist, and Juuse Saros made 36 saves for the Predators (25-14-3), who were 0-3-1 in their previous four following a 12-1-1 stretch.
"The last four games, we didn't find ways to win the games," Predators coach John Hynes said. "But I really liked the mindset of the group. There wasn't a lot of panic or finger-pointing. We lost different games in different ways, but it was all about solutions and just staying focused and making sure we understood what we needed to do better."
Josh Morrissey had two assists, and Connor Hellebuyck made 18 saves for the Jets (17-13-6), who have lost three of four. Winnipeg, playing the sixth of eight straight road games (3-2-1), trailed 3-0 late in the first period.
"We got exactly what we expected," Jets coach Dave Lowry said. "We expected them to come out to be ready to play. This is a team 0-3-1 in their last [four] games. Their level of desperation, you could see it in their play. They had some urgency. They put pucks to the goal line. They did what we wanted to do."
Eeli Tolvanen gave the Predators a 1-0 lead at 4:43 of the first period. He deflected Matt Benning's shot off the right post, then scored on the rebound.
Granlund extended the lead to 2-0 at 11:49. The primary assist went to Josi.

Johansen made it 3-0 at 17:35 when his wrist shot from the top of the right face-off circle went between Hellebuyck's legs. Josi set up the goal with a drop pass.
Pierre-Luc Dubois cut it to 3-1 on the power play at 6:41 of the second period when he centered the puck and it deflected in off Nashville defenseman Alexandre Carrier.
The Jets did not score on the other three power plays they had in the first 9:34 of the period and finished 1-for-5.
"We knew they were going to take some penalties," Jets forward Mark Scheifele said. "We needed to capitalize on those opportunities on the power play. Obviously, we got one on the 5-on-3, but it could have been a whole new game if we score early and change the tempo of the game."
Luke Kunin increased the lead to 4-1 at 12:22.
Scheifele cut it to 4-2 at 25 seconds of the third period on the rebound of Morrissey's point shot.
Tanner Jeannot scored into an empty net with 21 seconds left for the 5-2 final. The forward leads NHL rookies with 13 goals in 42 games.
"We got ourselves into some penalties in the second period, and then I thought in the third period, Winnipeg played real hard," Hynes said. "We didn't handle that as well as we needed to in the third period. But I think overall the big lesson in that was we weren't too low. We were losing some games, but I just liked the mindset of our group. Just keep moving forward."
NOTES: Jets forward Paul Stastny had three shots and played 16:26 after missing three games in NHL COVID-19 protocol. … Defenseman Mattias Ekholm played a Predators-high 25:21 in his return from missing three games in protocol. … Johansen has scored 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) in 28 games against Winnipeg. … Defenseman Matt Tennyson had an assist in his Nashville debut and first NHL game of the season. He was recalled from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League on Thursday. … Predators defenseman Dante Fabbro (upper body) was placed on injured reserve and is week to week. … Legwand played 956 games for Nashville.