The Winnipeg Jets were on the 2nd half of a back-to-back tonight in Nashville. Coming into this game, the Jets were on an 11 game winning streak, looking to extend it to 12. The Predators have been playing better hockey since the last time these two teams met in late December, but they were coming off 5-0 and 4-1 losses to Eastern conference opponents. Eric Comrie started in goal, and one small line up change saw Haydn Fleury inserted on the left side of the 3rd pairing with Logan Stanley, replacing Colin Miller. The Predators were without captain Roman Josi, who got injured in the Predators last game versus the Panthers on Tuesday. Tonight’s game was a bit of an off game for the Jets, especially their #1 ranked powerplay, which ended up going 0/4. The franchise best win streak is over at an impressive 11 games.

Both teams eased into this game, and after 4 minutes played the shots were just 2-1 for the Jets. Nashville opened up the scoring shortly after, with Filip Forsberg scoring his team leading 22th of the season. A quick faceoff win by Ryan O’Reilly was picked up by Gustav Nyquist, who passed it to the top of the left faceoff dot, where Forsberg wristed one up past Comrie. The Predators had the early lead, but the Jets got a powerplay opportunity just over 2 minutes later after Forsberg tripped Gabriel Vilardi. No luck on the powerplay for the Jets on this man advantage, who failed to generated any shots on goal.

The 2nd half of the 1st period was “visually” better for the Jets. Alex Iafallo picked up the puck behind the Predators net and handed it off to Rasmus Kupari. After working the puck long the boards, Kupari sent it back to the point to Neal Pionk, who slapped one past Juuse Saros to tie this game at 1. Pionk’s 9th of the season got the Jets back on the right track on this Thursday night. Iafallo took a tripping call 3 minutes later, and it was the Predators 1st chance on the powerplay. After a few saves from Comrie, the Jets made a costly turnover that kept the play in their end. Luke Evangelista sent one over to Justin Barron, who found Tommy Novak right in front and he slapped one past Comrie to give the Predators a 2-1 lead. The 1st Period ended with the Predators in front 2-1, with the shots on goal 14-6 in favor of the Predators.

The Jets picked up the pace in the 2nd period. A lack of shots in the 1st created a sense of urgency in the team to get things going on offence. Logan Stanley (who leads the Jets in penalty minutes), took a cross-checking call against Michael McCarron with 9 minutes left to play in the 2nd. Unlike the 1st penalty kill, this one was successful for the Jets, giving them yet another reason to gain some momentum to try and tie this game. A few minutes later, Colton Sissons interfered with Josh Morrissey, giving the Jets their 2nd powerplay of the game.

Juuse Saros made some key saves in the 2nd, including on this powerplay, which quickly became a 5 on 3 just six seconds later. Nick Blankenburg flipped the puck straight over the glass on a clearing attempt. This was the Jets best chance to tie this game at 2, but unfortunately the 5 on 3 came up empty for the usually great Jets powerplay. With 1 minute left in the 2nd, the Jets got a 4th powerplay after Filip Forsberg tripped Vladislav Namestnikov. The powerplay couldn’t get it done again, and the Jets finished the night 0/4 on the powerplay. Shots on goal in the 2nd were the opposite of the 1st, 14-6 for the Jets.

The Predators used the momentum from killing off these 3 penalties in the 3rd period. Shots on goal in the 3rd were 10-4 for the Predators, highlighting how this period went. Final shots on goal were 30-24 Predators, so Comrie did well in keeping the Jets in this game late. Neal Pionk took an interference penalty 6 minutes into the 3rd, giving the Predators a chance to extend the lead. Filip Forsberg had a glorious opportunity to make it 3-1, but a save of the year candidate was made by Comrie. The rest of the game after this penalty kill just didn’t go the Jets way, and some fatigue was showing from playing last night. Despite a decent effort to tie the game with the net empty, the Jets couldn’t get one past Saros, and the Predators ended the Jets 11 game win streak with a 2-1 win.

This 11 game win streak won’t be forgotten as the final push for the playoff starts in March, with the season ending in mid April. Of course it will sting a bit losing the winning streak to a team that the Jets should be able to beat, but it was a back to back and the powerplay just wasn’t the same tonight. The Jets and Predators won’t meet again this season, as the seasons series between the two teams ends split at 2 games each.

Up next, the Jets have the day off tomorrow to travel home to play in Winnipeg on Saturday night against the Flyers. This game marks the 1st of 2 games against the Flyers in early March, as the two teams will meet again in Philly on March 6th. Puck drop for Saturday’s night game is at 6:00 pm CT, and stay tuned tomorrow afternoon for a recap of the Jets franchise best 11 game win streak.