NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Kyle Connor scored at 1:52 of overtime to give the Winnipeg Jets a 4-3 victory over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night.
Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists, Gabriel Vilardi and Dylan DeMelo also scored and Connor Hellebuyck made a season-high 45 saves for Winnipeg, winners of four straight.
āI think we start the bus and get out of here as fast as we can,ā DeMelo said. āWithout (Hellebuyck), we donāt win the game. Thatās why heās the best goalie in the league and weāre lucky to have him.ā
Tommy Novak, Spencer Stastney and Ryan OāReilly scored and Juuse Saros made 18 saves for Nashville, losers of five of seven. Kiefer Sherwood and Roman Josi each had two assists.
With the overtime loss, the Predators clinched a playoff spot. After missing the playoffs last season, the Predators have reached the postseason in nine of the last 10 seasons.
āObviously, making the playoffs is a huge accomplishment,ā OāReilly said. āI think weāre proud as a group. Guys worked hard for this. Of course, it would have been nice to win that one, but I thought we showed great resilience tonight.ā
In overtime, Connor and Scheifele came in on Saros on a 2-on-1, with Connor beating the goaltender with a wrist shot from the left side after a feed from Scheifele.
āObviously, (Connor) is a great shooter, you want to get the puck on his stick,ā Scheifele said. āSo, I just tried to time the pass right and obviously great shot by him.ā
After falling behind by a goal early, the Jets rallied for three goals in the first. The three goals were scored on their first five shots of the game.
āWe played well in the first and we played really well after they tied it up,ā Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. āIn between there wasnāt our best hockey for sure. Weāve played better than that and lost, so weāll take that.ā
Nashville trailed by two goals entering the third, but Stastney and OāReilly scored 2:07 apart near the midpoint of the period to draw the Predators even.
Novak scored the gameās first goal at 4:05 of the opening period, but Vilardi tied it on the power play at 6:51.
Scheifele found Vilardi all alone just outside the Nashville crease, where he put the stick between his legs before roofing a shot just underneath the crossbar on Sarosā glove side.
Scheifele then scored on a backhand at 8:19 of the first and DeMelo followed with 7:14 remaining.
OāReilly tied it at 9:41 of the third with a wrist shot from the slot that beat Hellebuyck on the stick side.
āIt was a heck of a shot,ā Nashville coach Andrew Brunette said. āHe just seems to relish ā¦ heās almost calmer when things get chaotic. Heās been around. Heās had some big moments, won some big games, won the ultimate thing. Heās been unbelievable for our group all year.ā
UP NEXT
Jets: Visit Dallas on Thursday.
Predators: Visit Chicago on Friday.
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