NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It appears that Ryan Johansen likes playing against the Winnipeg Jets.

The Nashville Predators center enjoyed another big game against the Central Division rival Friday, scoring two goals and adding an assist as his team improved to 8-1-1 in Bridgestone Arena with a 5-1 decision.

It was the first two-goal game of the season for Johansen, who had just two markers in the first 19 games, the second coming Friday night. But one should have expected Johansen to light it up with Winnipeg in town, as he has five goals and six helpers in his last five games against it.

“I don’t know what it is,” Johansen said when asked about his dominance of the Jets. “I guess I’ve had some success against them lately. I should be happy we play them again on Sunday.”

If Winnipeg (9-12-2) is to salvage a split of the home-and-home series with its Central Division rivals, it might want to look out for Johansen while playing a more disciplined game than it offered up during the final two periods.

After playing a solid first period and getting a 1-0 lead when Dustin Byfuglien’s wrister hit the stick of Nashville’s Colin Wilson and fluttered over Pekka Rinne, the Jets spent most of the last 40 minutes fishing the puck out of the net, often with a player skating out of the penalty box.

Following Wilson’s third goal at 5:39 of the second, a tap-in at the crease after the first of three Mike Fisher assists, Winnipeg started making mistakes.

Nikolaj Ehlers hooked Johansen 14 seconds later and spent just 54 seconds in the box. Byfuglien threw a backhand pass from the corner right on Fisher’s stick, and he fed an unmarked Johansen in the faceoff circle for a one-timer that gave the Predators the lead for good.

James Neal, who later left the game with an upper-body injury, made it 3-1 at 17:54 with an unusual power play goal. Chopping at the puck just before Brandon Tanev’s five-minute major for boarding Colton Sissons ended, Neal got a fortunate carom off the stick of defenseman Mark Stuart for his 10th goal of the season and his ninth goal in 10 games.

Nashville (10-7-3) ended any chance Winnipeg might have harbored for a rally with its third man-advantage tally at 2:13 of the third period. Wilson drove to the net and Fisher set him up at the doorstep for his second of the night.

After Mark Scheifele skated back to the bench, Jets coach Paul Maurice lifted him and captain Blake Wheeler for the game’s remainder, although he was quick to deny it was a punitive measure.

“Mark and Blake have been carrying this club in so many ways,” Maurice said. “They were running 15 minutes through two periods and they were frustrated. The other players have to understand that it’s not just two or three guys that have to get the job done.”

Johansen capped the Predators’ sixth straight home win with a one-timer off Filip Forsberg’s centering pass at 8:15, improving them to 7-2-1 in their last 10 games after a 3-5-2 start.

“I like when he shoots the puck,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. “We don’t have a lot of 30-goal scorers, but he’s one of them.”

Given that kind of lead, Rinne (9-5-3) wasn’t about to let Winnipeg back within sniffing distance, finishing with 22 saves as he upped his November record to 8-1-2. Connor Hellebuyck (7-8-0) stopped 25 of 30 shots for the Jets.

The result completed a disastrous 0-5-0 road trip for Winnipeg, which was outscored 20-6 as it dropped from second to sixth place in the Central Division. The Jets fell to 3-8-2 away from MTS Centre.

“We’ve got work to do,” Maurice said. “We’ve got to play fairly close to perfect mentally. We don’t have that margin for error right now. We have to play a fast, simple game.”

NOTES: Winnipeg D Toby Enstrom missed Friday’s game to attend to a family matter in his native Sweden. Enstrom played in the team’s first 22 games, scoring a goal and adding six assists. ... Nashville D Matt Carle Friday retired from the NHL. Carle had an assist in six games this season, finishing his career with 45 goals and 238 assists in 730 games. ... The Jets scratched C Alexander Burmistrov. ... D Ryan Ellis was a late scratch for the Predators due to injury, with Anthony Bitetto drawing into the lineup.