Predators Outwork Jets for Decisive 4-1 Win Saturday

The Winnipeg Jets fall to the Nashville Predators 4-1 on the road Saturday. The loss was an emphatic one as the Jets struggled to generate chances towards the end of the game as they were robbed by a red hot goaltender in Nashville Juuse Saros.

The first nine minutes of the game were fairly even with both sides landing a few shots on net except for Winnipeg finding a couple decent scoring chances due to an early too many men penalty by Nashville, but did not result in a goal.

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It wasn't until about halfway through the period that Predators captain Roman Josi broke the ice with a blast from the point that Winnipeg's Eric Comrie doesn't see as Tommy Novak applies a screen in front to block the Comrie's vision.

Before the Jets could catch their breath, Nashville rushed into Winnipeg's end with Colton Sissons working a shot off Comrie's pad as a perfect bounce to Alexandre Carrier's stick for a second goal just 16 seconds later.

Luckily for the Jets, it was deemed that the play was offside and keep the score at 1-0 with Nashville still ahead heading into the second period.

The Jets were tasked to kill off a Mark Scheifele tripping penalty and got the kill but it came at a cost as they lost key blueliner Dylan Samberg, who blocked a legendary Steven Stamkos one-timer.

It left an impact as Samberg had to limp off the ice and did not return as he was ruled out with a broken foot.

It was a back-and-forth game for much of the period until a loose puck in front of Saros was corralled by Jets captain Adam Lowry, who buries the puck on a quick hack and ties up the game.

The third period started with both netminders making impeccable saves like Comrie making several goal-saving grabs when Nashville was on the power play.

The Predators did eventually cash in however as Stamkos fired home a one-timer that wasn't blocked this time but was deflected off Jets defender Haydn Fleury, pass Comrie for the go-ahead goal and regaining the lead at 2-1 but it didn't last long.

Winnipeg's depleted defence saw the Jets fatigued for a majority of the third period when it counted. Just a minute after the second goal, the Predators were back on the prowl as they had Comrie scrambling once again.

The large sea of bodies in front of the net left the puck bouncing around as it eventually finds a streaking Jonathan Marchessault, who enters the zone and fires a quick shot past Comrie to extend the lead to 3-1 and distancing themselves further from the Jets.

Winnipeg battled trying to regain ground but Saros stellar night staved off any comeback as he finished with 22 saves on 23 shots. Winnipeg also had a stellar showing from their netminder as regular backup Eric Comrie made 32 saves on 36 shots.

The Jets will look to rebound from the loss when continuing their road trip on Monday when they take on another division rival in the Minnesota Wild, who sit just behind Winnipeg in the Western Conference in second place.