I apologize for the lateness of this recap, but was too tired after the game to write it and somehow slept through my alarm this morning. Better late than never.
Two teams struggling to find their optimal game met on Saturday night, getting nation-wide coverage via Hockey in Canada’s late game. Coming into the match, both the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers were sporting identical 1-3 records and were looking to right the ship.
The Oilers jumped out and controlled the play early in the 1st period, helping them to take an early 1-0 lead when McDavid found Nurse pinching and hit him with a pass in the slot. The defender sniped a shot high past Hellebuyck’s glove and the Jets were down just 1:25 into the game. Things continued to go Edmonton’s way as they out-shot Winnipeg 8 to 1 in the opening 7 minutes. The Oilers’ efforts paid off again on their 1st PP of the night, when Draisaitl found Bouchard for a 93 MPH one-timer from the blueline that beat Hellebuyck blocker-side to make it 2-0. The two teams traded scoring opportunities when Ehlers got a high danger chance off an offensive zone face-off win and then Hellebuyck denied a breakaway chance. Winnipeg had their 1st PP chance around the mid-way point of the period and Barron won a battle along the boards and sent the puck back to the point for DeMelo. He passed to his defensive partner Morrissey, who rifled a shot through traffic to make it 2-1 as the powerplay was about to expire. Hellebuyck was called on a few more times to make big saves, denying a breakaway and a dangerous chance from McDavid to keep the game 2 to 1 after the first frame.
First Period Stats: Score: 2-1, shots 19-6 EDM, 71.4% Deserve To Win EDM, Expected Goals – all situations (1.47-0.63 EDM), & 5 on 5 (1.23-0.08 EDM)
The early 2nd period saw Winnipeg even out the flow of the game, aided by two early powerplay chances. The Jets did have a few looks with the man advantages (at one point getting 5 straight PPs), but are still having a lot of difficulties gaining the offensive zone cleanly. Edmonton was able to kill off those 2nd period short-handed situations and then had a couple PPs of their own. Winnipeg had a great kill on the first of those, with Namestnikov getting the best scoring chance on a SH 2 on 2. The second PK worked out even better for the Jets when Iafallo won a race with the goalie Skinner for a loose puck near the Oilers’ face-off dot. The newly acquired winger poked the puck by the goalie and into the corner before gaining control behind the goal crease. Iafallo then found Namestnikov with a pass as he was driving to the front of the net, allowing Winnipeg to tie the game 2 to 2 with the short-handed marker. The Oilers tested Hellebuyck again with some last minute pressure, but the game remained locked up heading into the second intermission.
After Two Periods Stats Score: 2-2 TIE, shots 25-18 EDM, 55.3% Deserve to Win EDM, Expected Goals – all situations (2.07-1.67 EDM) & 5 on 5 (1.49-0.45 EDM)
The third period saw the Winnipeg Jets spend most of the time in their defensive end, as Edmonton ended up out-shooting them 13 to 4. Hellebuyck appears to have regained his Vezina form, as he continued to stop many prime scoring chances by the Oilers. The Jets had a few looks as well, as the second and fourth lines had some quality shifts that included a glorious chance for Ehlers to get his 1st goal of the season. The 1st line for Winnipeg also had a look when Scheifele pressured a defender on the forecheck, allowing a Jets defenseman to stop a weak clearing attempt. Samberg slipped a pretty cross-ice pass for a Iafallo one timer that Skinner barely got a piece of. After a Winnipeg icing in the last minute of play, Edmonton won the face-off and let off two prime shots, but once again Hellebuyck was there to keep the puck out of his net. We’re off to overtime….
The Winnipeg Jets won the opening draw in OT, allowing them to possess the puck for the first half of the extra frame. Ehlers had a good look, but the Oilers were able to break out on their own chance when the Dane was denied by Skinner. Hellebuyck remained calm and quickly snapped his pads shut when the Oiler attempted a 5-hole shot. Edmonton then had puck possession for a minute or so, resulting in another scoring chance right in the Jets’ crease. Winnipeg regained the puck with 2 minutes to play in OT and Connor tested Skinner with a shot from the high slot, forcing the goalie to make a quick pad save. Iafallo deked a player before finding Lowry down low by the goaltender, but there wasn’t enough room for Winnipeg’s captain to beat Skinner. The Jets attempted another rush led by Connor, as he danced with the puck as he gained the Oilers’ zone. He eventually passed off to Morrissey near the blueline, while Scheifele drove to the net. Another magnificent pass by #44 saw Scheifele deflect the puck right up into the top corner to give Winnipeg a 3 to 2 overtime victory.
FINAL SCORE: WINNIPEG JETS 3 EDMONTON OILERS 2 (OT)
SHOTS: EDMONTON OILERS 40 WINNIPEG JETS 27
Game Observations:
- After two rough outings, statistic-wise, Connor Hellebuyck returned to form against the Oilers. Despite being beat by 2 of the first 6 shots he faced, Helly shut the door after that and turned aside the next 34 sent towards him.
- Also thought Josh Morrissey had an excellent game. He was tough on McDavid & company in the defensive zone, but his skating and vision created a lot of Winnipeg’s offense in this game. Great passing on multiple occasions to set up scoring looks, plus added a PP goal.
- For the most part, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor were pretty invisible in this game, until 3 on 3 OT gave them space to work with. The Jets did seem to control the majority of the extra frame.
- I liked Rick Bowness’ change to bring Alex Iafallo up to the top line with Scheifele & Connor. The guy has more skills to work with than hard working Mason Appleton.
- I thought Dylan Samberg had a bounce back game, but it certainly seems to make things interesting when any defenseman has to play with Nate Schmidt. Schmidt was at least trying, as he led the Jets in bodychecks on Saturday.
- Nik Ehlers continues to look more and more dangerous each game. Liking what I am seeing from him and his linemates Vladislav Namestnikov and Cole Perfetti.
- Yet another game where Rasmus Kupari has impressed with his speed on the forecheck. The guy seems to have some dangling ability and it will be very interesting to watch his progression in Winnipeg.
- MoneyPuck Stats: Edmonton Oilers 68.8% Deserve to Win, Edmonton Oilers 3.79 to 2.55 in expected goals overall, and the Oilers dominated at 5 on 5 with a 2.65 to 0.85 advantage.
I am sure I have missed some observations in my haste, so let me hear what you took from last night’s game in the comments section.
NEXT GAME: St. Louis Blues @ Winnipeg Jets – Tuesday, October 24th @ 7:45 pm Central
Do we feel a bit better about our team now that they are 2-3? It is early and the Winnipeg Jets do show signs of possibly being an upper-echelon team this year, but still there are so many things to clean up you have to wonder if they will get them fixed in time to qualify for the playoffs. A lot of season left to play out, so hopefully the players & coaching staff will find their groove.
