The Nashville Predators beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 Saturday evening at Bridgestone Arena, scoring twice in quick succession in the third period to capture the win.
Related: Jets Defeat Penguins 4-1 in Complete Team Effort
Steven Stamkos’ early third-period power-play marker from his “office” turned out to be the game-winner; his seventh of the season broke a 1-1 deadlock in what was to that point a goaltending duel. A favourable Predators’ bounce off Jets’ defenceman Haydn Fleury facilitated the goal.
Stammer putting in work from his office ☕️ pic.twitter.com/bZ144GLtLE
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) November 24, 2024
The Predators improved to 7-11-3 and rebounded after being shut out by the Seattle Kraken in their last game. The league-leading Jets, in the second game in a back-to-back situation, fell to 17-4-0 and saw their two-game winning streak snapped.
Comrie and Saros Duel in First and Second
The Predators opened the scoring at 9:55 of the first when captain Roman Josi blasted a puck in from the point through a screened Eric Comrie. 26 seconds later, the Predators appeared to have doubled the lead when Alexandre Carrier put home a rebound, but the Jets successfully challenged that the Predators’ zone entry was offside.
The Jets outshot the Predators 10-5 in the frame, but Juuse Saros made a number of excellent saves to keep his side in the elad.
The Jets finally cracked Saros exactly 10 minutes into the second with a captain’s goal of their own; Adam Lowry banged the puck in on a mad scramble in the crease to tie the game.
The Predators really poured it on for the remainder of the period, but Comrie was sharp, making a number of excellent saves of his own and 18 overall in the frame.
Predators Pull Away in Third
Stamkos’ aforementioned power-play goal gave the Predators a 2-1 lead, and less than two minutes later, Jonathan Marchessault provided some insurance by scoring on a rebound to finish off an odd-man rush.
Jeremy Lauzon added an empty-netter at 18:40, shooting the puck all the way from his own end into the yawning cage, to round out the scoring.
Notes and Observations
Comrie’s start was his fifth of the season and he made 32 saves on 35 shots. Saros made 22 saves on 23 shots.
Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg was injured when he blocked a Stamkos one-timer with his foot on an early-second period Jets’ penalty kill and did not return to the game after finishing his shift.
The game featured the league’s best power play (Jets at 35.59 per cent efficiency) versus the league’s best penalty kill (Predators at 91.30 per cent efficiency.) The Jets’ went zero for three on the man advantage, while the Predators went one for three.
Mark Scheifele appeared to be under close surveillance by referees Kelly Sutherland and Stephen Hiff, being assessed three separate minor penalties (one was offsetting.)
The attendance was 17,159, just a few hundred short of a sellout.
The Central Division rivals will face each other three more times this season.
The Jets play next on Monday night (Nov. 25) in Minnesota as they face the Wild in the third stop of their season-long six-game road trip. The Predators are also back in action Monday in New Jersey against the Devils on a one-game road “business trip.”