. Mark Scheifele scored twice and new Winnipeg forward Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist. Matt Hendricks and Nikolaj Ehlers also scored. Ehlers added one assist and Patrik Laine had two. Pekka Rinne stopped 34 shots for the Predators, who were starting a four-game road trip. Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves for Winnipeg. After a scoreless first period, the teams combined for seven goals in the second, with Winnipeg taking a 4-3 lead into the third. Stastny was acquired in a trade Monday with St. Louis, while Jets defenseman Joe Morrow came over from Montreal. Morrow was on the ice after veteran Toby Enstrom was scratched. The second period featured five goals in just under five minutes. Hendricks started it off at 2:45 when his shot from the slot went past Rinne. Smith got the equalizer six minutes later, but then Scheifele triggered the flurry of goals on both sides of the ice. The top-line center scored his 20th of the season off a slick pass from Jack Roslovic at 12:41. Smith got his second when Stastny sent him a pass from the side of the net out front less than two minutes later for a 3-1 lead. Blake Wheeler assisted on the second goal, extending his point streak to nine games with four goals and 11 assists during that stretch. Turris replied at 15:07 to cut the lead 3-2, and Ekholm scored with one second left on a power play after the Jets had unsuccessfully challenged Turris' goal for offside. Winnipeg was dinged with a delay-of-game penalty for the failed challenge. Ehlers finished the period's scoring with his 25th of the season at 17:39. The third period began with Stastny's goal 10 minutes in for a 5-3 lead, but Smith scored 55 seconds later and Johansen tied it at 13:56. Laine picked up assists on Stastny's and Ehlers' goals, pushing his point streak to six games. UP NEXTPredators: Play in Edmonton on Thursday. Jets: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Friday.---More NHL hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey)
Time: 8:00 PM EST Venue: Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3C 5S5 / WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Just a day after bolstering their lineups for what they hope is a lengthy playoff run, both the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators will unveil their new additions Tuesday night at Bell MTS Place. The Jets made one of the biggest splashes on the NHL's trade deadline day, landing veteran center Paul Stastny from the quickly fading St. Louis Blues in exchange for their 2018 first-round draft pick, prospect Erik Foley and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2020. The Predators, meanwhile, picked up forward Ryan Hartman from the Chicago Blackhawks plus a fifth-round pick in this year's draft for forward Victor Ejdsell and a first-round and fourth-round pick. Both teams have taken turns leading the Central Division during the season, but it's the Predators who sit in the catbird's seat right now with 85 points in 61 games, right in front of the Jets, who have 83 points in 62 games. The 32-year-old Stastny, son of Hall of Famer and Czechoslovakian star Peter Stastny, is expected to center the Jets' third line between snipers Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers. A pending unrestricted free agent who is making $7 million this season, he had 12 goals and 28 assists with the Blues. Laine, who leads the Jets in goals with 31, told The Winnipeg Free Press he was excited after hearing about general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff's handiwork." It looks like we're now really wanting to win the Stanley Cup and now we have a really good chance to do it. We were happy with this team we had, but now we're even happier." The 19-year-old Finn said Stastny will make the Jets even stronger up the middle, where they already have Mark Scheifele, Bryan Little, Andrew Copp, Matt Hendricks and Adam Lowry, who is injured but expected to return to the team shortly." All our centermen are really good. Now, when Stastny comes in, it looks really good. It really doesn't matter who I'm playing with. I didn't know that he had so many points this year. I just checked it. So, he's really good in the (offensive)-zone and he's just overall a really good player. He can play defense and he's good at faceoffs. He's going to be a really good centerman on this team." Predators coach Peter Laviolette said he was looking forward to seeing what Hartman and his eight goals and 25 points in 57 games will bring to his squad." He's a young player, he's got a lot of grit, lot of sandpaper, good skill level and he's a playoff type of player. He's somebody we feel can fit in with our group here," he said." We know what the playoffs are all about. It's about playing the game fast and executing but it's also about grit and determination and it becomes more physical and more competitive. I think those work to his strengths. He's still a skilled player but yet he's got a lot of determination the way he plays the game." The Predators made another addition on Monday, signing forward Mike Fisher, who had retired after 17 seasons last year, to a prorated contract. The Jets also picked up defenseman Joe Morrow from the Montreal Canadiens for a 2018 fourth-round pick but he's not expected to step into the lineup right away.
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