The Winnipeg Jets aim to apply the brakes on their pronounced slide when they visit the Nashville Predators on Saturday afternoon.

The Jets (38-28-3, 79 points) have lost two straight and 11 of their last 15 games (4-9-2) to plummet into fourth place in the Central Division, four points ahead of the Predators (34-25-7, 75 points). The teams split a pair of 2-1 decisions earlier in the season.

Winnipeg, which is clinging to the second wild card in the Western Conference, was unable to solve Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins in a 3-0 setback on Thursday night. The Jets were shut out for the fourth time this season, much to the chagrin of coach Rick Bowness.

“A couple of goal posts, we missed a couple tap-ins around the net … yeah, it could’ve (gone either way),” Bowness said. “But we have to put those pucks in the back of the net. The opportunities were there. Their goalie was really good. We didn’t capitalize on the chances they gave us.”

Those chances came in the form of five power plays in which Winnipeg generated 10 of its 36 shots overall.

“It’s really disappointing; we need these points,” Jets forward Adam Lowry said. “They’re so critical right now, and we’re almost scoreboard watching every night right now. So, it would have been nice to see a few of those go in. I thought for the most part we played a really solid game, and obviously you’re playing the best team in the league.”

Connor Hellebuyck, who made 21 saves on Thursday, has turned aside 64 of 67 shots in two games versus Nashville this season.

Captain Roman Josi recorded an assist in the Predators’ 2-1 win over the Jets on Jan. 24 and scored his team’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.

“Obviously it’s a disappointing loss,” Josi said after seeing the team’s three-game winning streak come to a halt. “Every point is huge right now. But we have a massive game coming up Saturday. It’s a quick turnaround. We’ve got to look at this (game) tonight, but after that, we’ve got to forget about it and look forward to Saturday.”

Tommy Novak notched an assist on Josi’s goal to extend his point streak to four games (four goals, two assists). He also had an assist in his team’s 2-1 victory over the Jets on Jan. 24.

Matt Duchene also had an assist on Josi’s goal to boost his point total to 31 (13 goals, 18 assists) in his last 38 games.

Nashville coach John Hynes cautioned his team not to get too down following Thursday’s loss.

“They’ve got to understand that in this league you can’t get too low because there’s another one coming … Saturday,” he said. “So let’s not be frustrated with it. Let’s take some lessons out of it as a group, get some rest and make sure our minds are right and we’re getting ready to go again.”

–Field Level Media

The Minnesota Wild have earned at least one point in each of their last 14 games and will be looking to extend that streak when they meet the Boston Bruins on Saturday at Saint Paul, Minn.

Minnesota is 11-0-3 amid a 14-game point streak that is a franchise record. The team’s last regulation setback came on Feb. 15 in a 3-2 home loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

Minnesota (39-21-8, 86 points) is coming off Wednesday’s 8-5 road win over the St. Louis Blues when Ryan Hartman scored two goals and collected an assist. St. Louis goaltender Jordan Binnington was ejected for throwing a punch at Hartman following the latter’s second goal.

The Wild trailed the Blues 3-1 after one period but scored five goals in the second. The eight goals matched another franchise record.

“There was a lot of stuff, obviously, but the bottom line is we got two points,” Wild coach Dean Evason said. “We had to stay out of the penalty box. They scored two power-play goals in the first. We had to control that a bit.

“Once the second period (began), we gathered ourselves a bit. We stayed out of the box and played a lot better hockey. We played more in their end, and we got rewarded for it.”

Boston (51-11-5, 107 points) killed off five power plays and received a 36-save performance from Jeremy Swayman in Thursday’s 3-0 road victory over the Winnipeg Jets. Boston had lost its previous two games – the first time it absorbed back-to-back regulation losses this season.

It was Swayman’s third shutout this season and eighth career.

“I thought we were a little too loose defensively in the first 40 minutes and I think (Swayman) had to be terrific – and he was terrific,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “That might have been his best game of the year and he’s had a lot of good ones.

“The goaltenders were not excused from needing a reset. I think our whole team needed a reset, and our goalies are a huge part of the success we’ve had all year and our team went into a little bit of a funk there, hopefully we’re done with it.”

Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort blocked a shot in the second period of Thursday’s game, left the ice and did not return. Montgomery said it’s unlikely Forbort will play in the two remaining games on Boston’s current five-game road trip.

The Bruins failed to score on any of their eight power play opportunities during the first three games of the road trip.

David Pastrnak leads Boston in scoring with 46 goals and 44 assists. Kirill Kaprizov has a team-high 74 points (39) goals for the Wild, but hasn’t played since March 9 because of a back issue and isn’t expected back in the lineup until April.

This will be the second meeting between the teams this season. Boston won the first matchup 4-3 at Boston on Oct. 22 when Taylor Hall scored a power-play goal 4:49 into overtime. Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon tied the game 3-3 at 15:29 of the third.

Linus Ullmark made 24 saves for Boston. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 39 shots for the Wild.

–Field Level Media

The Colorado Avalanche can finish off a productive road trip with a victory in Detroit on Saturday afternoon.

The Avalanche have won four straight, with the last three victories coming on the road. The trip began with an 8-4 triumph in Montreal. Then they won on back-to-back nights, edging Toronto 2-1 in a shootout on Wednesday and Ottawa 5-4 on Thursday.

Colorado lost four of five games (1-3-1) prior to the winning streak.

“I think we’re trending in the right direction again,” forward Mikko Rantanen said. “We’re getting together as a team, you know? This is the time that we need to do it. Only 15 or so games left, so we’ve got to really dial it up here.”

Rantanen scored his 45th goal as the Avalanche built a 5-2 lead against the Senators through two periods, then held off the home team’s third-period charge.

Colorado never trailed, as defenseman Cale Makar and Valeri Nichushkin scored in the first five minutes.

“The first goal is the biggest goal, for me,” coach Jared Bednar said. “We wanted to make sure that we were energized coming out tonight. Even though it’s a back-to-back for us, it’s their first game back from a (five-game) road trip and we know how difficult that can be.”

Lars Eller, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Washington Capitals for a second-round pick in 2025, scored his first goal for Colorado late in the second period.

“He’s a wily, veteran guy in a lot of ways,” Bednar said. “It was nice to see him sort of bang that one home. It was a big moment in the game.”

In the first meeting with the Red Wings on Jan. 16, the Avalanche won 6-3 as Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and two assists.

MacKinnon (five goals, seven assists) carries a seven-game point streak into the rematch, as does Makar (three goals, 10 assists). Rantanen (four goals, six assists) will look to extend a six-game point streak.

Detroit has lost eight of its last 10 games (2-7-1). The Red Wings haven’t played since Tuesday, when they dropped a 2-1 decision in Nashville.

Simon Edvinsson, the team’s top pick in the 2021 draft, could make his NHL debut. He was called up from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins under emergency conditions on Friday. Edvinsson, 20, leads the Griffins’ defensemen with 27 points in 51 games.

Detroit needs another defenseman because Ben Chiarot is out “week-to-week” with an upper-body injury, according to coach Derek Lalonde.

“Ben has been dealing with something,” Lalonde said. “We don’t expect him Saturday. He might be in that week-to-week range. We’ll see him before the season is out, but he’s been dealing with something for a little bit now and he won’t be available Saturday.”

Though the Wings have faded out of playoff contention, they’ve still shown some grit over the last four games. They defeated Chicago and split two games with NHL leader Boston prior to the one-goal loss to the Predators.

“There’s enough experience in here, it’s still the NHL and you want to play and you want to prove how good a team you are, and individually as well,” defenseman Olli Maatta said. “As a team, we have, what, four weeks until the end of the season? So make the best out of it.”

–Field Level Media