Jets 5, Predators 0
Quick, somebody get the recipe for the Winnipeg Jets pregame meal Friday night.
Whatever head chef Roger Wilton prepared before the home team took to the ice against the Nashville Predators at the MTS Centre will be in high demand -- for the next game at least.
The Jets used a four-goal first period to propel themselves to a 5-0 victory over the Predators in front of another sold-out crowd of 15,003. Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec kicked out 41 shots to earn the shutout.
It was hard to believe this was the same team that sleep-walked their way through a 3-1 loss to this same Predators team in Winnipeg less than three weeks ago.
Center Bryan Little opened the scoing at 3:04 of the first period with his team-leading ninth goal of the year, assisted by left-winger Andrew Ladd.
Less than four minutes later, center Olli Jokinen made it 2-0 on a nice set up from right-winger Evander Kane and defenseman Keaton Ellerby, who was playing in his third game since being claimed off the waiver wire from the Los Angeles Kings.
Defenseman Dustin Byfuglein extended the lead to three at 8:23, with his first of the season, assisted by his defense partner, Grant Clitsome, and right-winger Chris Thorburn.
The Jets' rearguard -- who lead the league with the most shots on goal without having scored -- celebrated by reaching back and tossing an imaginary monkey off his back and into the crowd.
Byfuglien, who has been criticized for some lackluster efforts lately, had one of his better games of the season. He jumped into the rush regularly and was a physical force in his own zone. He was also feisty, picking up a pair of minor penalties.
The goal was also enough to chase Predators' goalie Carter Hutton. He was replaced by Marek Mazanec.
Right-winger David Setoguchi gave the Jets a rare four-goal cushion at 16:45 when he converted a pass from Jokinen off a faceoff in the Predators' zone for his fourth goal of the year.
The Jets were content to sit on their lead for the second period and much of the third, even employing a 1-4 defensive scheme at times.
Little scored his 10th of the season at 9:53 of the final frame, assisted by Ladd and right-winger Blake Wheeler. He was not able to score a third, however.
No Jets player has scored a hat trick since the team relocated from Atlanta prior to the 2011-12 season.
With everything decided but whether Pavelec would post a shutout, the crowd did the wave for several minutes. The Predators outshot the Jets 41-32.
Predators right-winger Patric Hornqvist had a shift to forget late in the second period. While on the forecheck, he was laid out by Byfuglien into the corner glass. Seconds later after the puck moved down to the other end, he stepped in front of defenseman Zach Bogosian's slap shot and was barely able to hobble off the ice.
NOTES: Second game, not nearly the same for Predators G Carter Hutton. The Thunder Bay, Ont. native won his first-ever NHL game in front of his parents and other family and friends on Oct. 20 at the MTS Centre, kicking out 38 shots in a 3-1 over the Jets. He lasted less than 10 minutes on Friday night, giving up three goals on just eight shots. ... The Jets fired a season-high 47 shots on Monday against Detroit in a 4-2 win. ... Jets D Keaton Ellerby, picked up on waivers from the Los Angeles Kings last week, is wearing No. 7, worn last season by Derek Meech, who is playing for the Minsk Dynamo in the KHL this year. ... Predators C Colin Wilson scored four points (2G, 2A) in a 6-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
