WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- In the muddled and murky Western Conference playoff party, the Nashville Predators had their invite and a chance to choose their dance partner.

Instead, after a stunning 2-1 loss Saturday night to the Winnipeg Jets, they're being handed a date with one of the biggest bullies in the National Hockey League.

Blake Wheeler scored a shorthanded goal with 44.6 seconds left in regulation to lift the Jets to their seventh straight win, a victory that sent the home fans off happy with the season finale and the Predators (41-29-12) into a first-round playoff clash with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Jets (40-35-7) already knew they would miss the playoffs but managed to close out the season with the hottest stretch of hockey in the franchise's history.

"It's been an up-and-down season, obviously, and there's been a lot of frustrations but you look at the guys we have in our room, the amount of talent we have on the ice now, you just have to think our group is knocking on the door," said Wheeler, who finished off a two-on-one with Mark Scheifele for the winner. "The city of Winnipeg should take a lot of pride in the fact our team didn't quit."

The late surge was started by Kyle Connor, the rookie who started the season with the Jets but spent much of the season with the AHL's Manitoba Moose before being recalled on Thursday.

Connor forced a Nashville miscue in the neutral zone and converted a two-on-one with Adam Lowry, beating Predators goalie Pekka Rinne to make it 1-1.

"It's as close as you're going to get (to the playoffs)," he said. "We want to be in that spot but it didn't happen. It was an exciting way to end the year the best you can."

Wheeler's goal was salt in the wound for a Predators special teams that finished 0-for-6 with the man advantage, including a five-on-three in the second period.

In that middle frame, Nashville outshot the Jets 21-6 but had just the one goal to show for it.

"There was 21 shots and 14, 15 chances, so yeah we missed some opportunities," Nashville head coach Peter Laviolette said. "It wasn't from a lack of taking them. If you had that many power plays and you walk through the second period and you only walk away with six shots on net and four scoring chances, then you miss some opportunities. But we took the opportunities and we weren't able to capitalize."

After killing off four power plays, including that two-man disadvantage, in the first 30 minutes of the game, the Jets were victimized on their own power play -- their first of the game.

The Predators made it 1-0 while shorthanded after Bryan Little made an errant pass in the neutral zone right to the stick of Ryan Ellis, who broke the other way and beat Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck with a quick deke 11:31 into the second.

Nashville thought it extended its lead seven minutes later when James Neal poked a puck past Hellebuyck with a lot of commotion in front of the Jets' net.

After initially signaling a goal, the referees convened and overturned it, deciding that Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson skated into Hellebuyck and interfered with his ability to play the puck. A Nashville coaches challenge went for naught after video review.

"Honestly I thought it was 50-50," Laviolette said. "Arv touched him, he was pushed a little bit. It was a 50-50 call, we had to take (the challenge) at the time."

Laviolette wasn't ready to speak much about the first-round foe the Predators will see when the postseason opens next week, and Rinne wasn't much for words, either.

"It's a great challenge for us," Rinne said. "It's a world-class team and we obviously look forward to playing against them but we've got to prepare well for next week."

Even Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice seemed to empathize with the road ahead for the Predators, who made the playoffs for the 10th time in the last 13 years.

"That's a tough loss for Nashville," he said. "They'll be happy whoever they get, but lining up against Chicago is certainly a daunting task. There was some meat on the bone for them in that game."

Hellebuyck made 33 saves for Winnipeg and Rinne stopped 34 in the Nashville goal.

NOTES: The Jets have had success against their own division. Winnipeg finished 19-8-2 against Central Division teams, including a 12-6-1 mark against the division's four playoff teams. ... F Blake Wheeler extended his point streak to eight games ... The Predators had earned at least a point in five of the last six games against Winnipeg.