After dropping the pre-season opener 5-2 at home against the Minnesota Wild, the Winnipeg Jets were hoping to get in the win column on Sunday versus the Edmonton Oilers. The northern Albertan franchise was opening their exhibition schedule this evening, but neither coaching staff put any star players on the ice for this one. The Jets are planning on riding Eric Comrie for the entire contest, but the Oilers plan to split the work between Olivier Rodrigue & former Manitoba Moose Collin Delia.
Here are the 18 Winnipeg Jets skaters who will take the ice against the Oilers tonight (*denotes non-veteran):
He* / Zhilkin* / Jonsson-Fjällby*
Loponen* / Toninato / Ford*
Anderson-Dolan / Gustafsson / King*
Torgersson* / Kupari / Walton*
Stanley / Barteaux*
Anhorn* / Salomonsson*
Sautner* / Coghlan
The coaching staff opted to dress these 18 Edmonton Oilers for their opening pre-season match:
#92 Podkolzin / #52 Hamblin / #22 Savoie
#62 Lavoie / #72 O’Reilly / #8 Caggiula
#68 Hoffman / #48 Philp / #70 Stefan
#38 Wright / #42 Grubbe / #56 Nicholl
#24 Dermott / #49 Emberson
#6 Gleason / #44 Brown
#85 Dineen / #58 Carrick
NHL.com had some technical difficulties that resulted in my not being able to start watching the game until there was only 6 minutes left in the 1st period. As a result, I wasn’t able to see exactly how Logan Stanley & David Gustafsson combined to open the scoring just 17 seconds into the contest. 1-0 WPG. The Gus Bus pocketed a rare goal and I wasn’t able to see it…maybe TSN will have highlights later tonight but that is something any diehard Jets fan would like to see with their own eyes. I also missed a 3 on 2 rush by the Oilers that resulted in recent draft pick O’Reilly beating Eric Comrie. 1-1 tie. When the live feed was finally available, the first thing I witnessed was the Edmonton-born Comrie making a nice save on a Oiler 1 timer. Winnipeg had a couple great looks when Daniel Torgersson lifted a stick in the offensive slot before quickly firing a shot on Rodrigue, who made the save before sprawling across the crease to deny Axel Jonsson-Fjallby as well. The Jets continued to press a bit as the period neared an end, with Kieran Walton setting up Rasmus Kupari for a 1 timer in the slot (wide) and then the speedy forward tipping a Logan Stanley point shot. When the horn blew to close the opening frame, Edmonton and Winnipeg were knotted at 1-1 despite the Oilers out-shooting the Jets 6 to 4.
The shot counter at Rexall told the story of how Edmonton took over the puck possession completely in the 2nd period, as the Oilers took a huge lead in the frame (19-9). I never saw the first puck that got by Comrie, but the veteran goaltender was excellent in the middle frame as he stopped a couple high-danger chances (robs a couple Edmonton players on the first powerplay of the game & a snipe attempt from the right face-off circle). Gustafsson caught my eye with a couple nice plays in his own end, as did Ben King kill a rush on the backcheck. Parker Ford was strong on the forecheck on those rare times Winnipeg was able to get the puck deep in Edmonton’s zone. The game was still knotted at 1-1 after the second, as coach Scott Arniel must be stressing getting pucks on net & better work in the face-off circle (33%) as being key things to work on in the final frame.
Kupari used his speed to carry the puck up the ice, then made a couple of dekes around Edmonton defenders to work his way into the low slot. Rather than letting the Finn get a shot off, he was held up and that provided Winnipeg’s powerplay the opportunity to get on the ice for the first time of the game. They might not have bothered, as the 4 Oilers clogged up the blueline and the Jets never really managed to get set up in the 2 minute man-advantage. Another nice defensive play by Ford as a strong backcheck breaks up an Edmonton odd-man rush. Bad turnover by Ashton Sautner in his own end sees the Oilers’ Hoffman test Comrie from prime slot territory (nice blocker save). Winnipeg had a couple good shifts back-to-back that saw Kevin He win a race for a dump in & set up Danny Zhilkin for a quality look and then Gustafsson winning a draw to set up Torgersson. Later that shift though, the big Swede turned the puck over in his own end and had to hook an Oiler to stop a scoring chance. Despite Elias Salomonsson being able to clear the puck early on, the PK quickly found themselves defending a cycle. Comrie stoned Hoffman again from the right dot, but a quick cross-ice pass found Lavoie for another 1 timer and this time Winnipeg’s goalie couldn’t corral the puck. 2-1 EDM. The Jets won the next face-off at center and quickly dumped the puck into the Oilers’ zone. It was He who won the race & battle for the puck along the back boards, quickly flipping the puck into the high slot for Dominic Toninato. The veteran showed surprising sniping capabilities by sighting a hole in Delia’s coverage to tie the game up only 10 seconds after his team had fallen behind. 2-2 tie. Winnipeg did get a few more shots in the game, but none of them were as dangerous as Edmonton’s chances on Comrie (including a solid save on a mid-slot shot & then quick reaction to stretch out the right pad to deny the rebound attempt). The period ended with the two teams deadlocked at 2-2 and the Oilers still controlling the shots (27-18).
By winning the face-offs, the Winnipeg Jets were able to control the puck in the first two shifts of overtime. Unfortunately, they only were able to create one chance when AJF used his speed to create a 2 on 1 with Toninato, but his decision to keep the puck for his own shot went un-rewarded. A nice bodycheck by an Edmonton player in the defensive zone gave them their first touch of the puck. It resulted in a rush up the ice that allowed Dineen to cut across the mid-slot and eventually find a small hole on Comrie’s short-side. Probably one that Eric would like back, but hey, it’s pre-season.
Final Score: Edmonton 3 Winnipeg 2 (OT)
Shots: 28-19 EDM / Hits: 12-9 WPG / 41.2% face-offs WPG
Goals for the Jets:
1st: Gustafsson from Stanley & Jonsson-Fjallby
2nd: Toninato from He
BOJA’s Observations:
- Eric Comrie: 25 of 28 saved (.893%). The stats aren’t flashy, but keeping his squad in a game they were heavily out-played & out-shot in has to give him the early edge for Connor Hellebuyck’s back up. The guy made some very tough saves, but possibly let in a couple less dangerous attempts.
- The announcers definitely raved about the play of Logan Stanley & Dylan Coghlan, who certainly logged a lot of icetime in the contest. Big Stan did well getting his shots through to the opposing goaltender and Coghlan was able to skate the puck out of trouble on a couple occasions.
- A bunch of other Winnipeg players caught my attention, but mostly on the defensive side of the puck. Parker Ford, Kevin He, Danny Zhilkin, & Ben King all made plays that might have stopped a goal against. I also thought Elias Salomonsson often made the right decision with the puck in his own end, but when he didn’t his recovery play was excellent to end the threat.
- Daniel Torgersson & Kieran Walton created a bunch of chances for linemate Rasmus Kupari, but too often the pucks bounced off the forward’s stick…nullifying the scoring opportunity. Kupari’s speed gets him into places (high-danger areas) that his hands unfortunately can’t seem to handle.
- Face-offs were again an issue, but Winnipeg managed to get up to 41.2% by the end of the contest. David Gustafsson was the exception, going 8 for 14 on the night.
- One other thing, the announcers mentioned that the Jets hadn’t worked on special teams at all so far in training camp, so don’t get overly concerned about the performances to date.
With an 0-2 record in the pre-season, the Winnipeg Jets will be off until Wednesday, when they take on the Oilers again, this time at the Canada Life Centre.
Looking for an easy way to support Arctic Ice Hockey Use our Affiliate Link when shopping hockey merch this off-season.
