In the Winnipeg Jets’ final contest of the Classic, they faced off against the Edmonton Oilers’ youth in Penticton, British Columbia. Both franchises will have to try to adjust to the odd start time (11 am local), but the Oilers haven’t played since Saturday and will be well rested.
The Jets’ coaching staff decided to give some of their lesser known prospects further playing time to shine, opting to rest star prospects Brad Lambert & Elias Salomonsson. Coach Mark Morrison has kept the line of Colby Barlow, Brayden Yager, & Nikita Chibrikov together for the 2nd straight game and the return of veterans (22-23 yr olds) Daniel Torgersson & Henri Nikkanen should help keep Winnipeg competitive.
With the defense being the obvious weak spot of the Jets at the tournament, I wonder why they decided not to bring other 22-23 yr olds like Simon Lundmark & Tyrel Bauer to this year’s? Would have definitely stiffened Winnipeg’s backend, but maybe the team wanted to get a better look at players who are currently signed with the Manitoba Moose and could potentially be added to the Jets’ pool at some point.
Here is today’s lineup for the game against Edmonton:
He – Julien – Levis
Barlow – Yager – Chibrikov
Golder – Zhilkin – King
Torgersson – Nikkanen – Liwiski
Anhorn – Mayo
Zloty – Barteaux
Sward – Kuzmin
Milic
DiVincentiis
For the 3rd straight contest, the Winnipeg Jets came flying out of the gate and were able to control the majority of play in the opening frame. Their forecheck caused issues for Edmonton’s defenders and Manitoban Mark Liwiski did his part by throwing a couple huge bodychecks, including a lovely open ice collision that sent the Oilers’ Berglund to the dressing room. The Jets’ 2nd line was buzzing all night and had plenty of looks in the 1st: Nikita Chibrikov denied from the low slot, Colby Barlow 1 timer blocked, Brayden Yager rushed & deked out a defender but couldn’t solve Brochu. Other lines contributed to Winnipeg’s dominance as Kevin He couldn’t convert on a 2 on 1 shot, a beautiful dangle by Danny Zhilkin created an in-tight chance, & Dmitry Kuzmin dancing in from the blue line to test the goaltender. The Jets had a big edge in the face-off circle in the 1st and that helped them keep the puck more often, but Edmonton had some looks as well: a defenseman joins a 3 on 3 rush and rings the crossbar from the slot, Thomas Milic had to sprawl across the crease to poke a puck away from the goalline during a net-front scramble, and Milic got a shoulder on an incredibly hard backhander from the low left face-off circle. Winnipeg did get a chance on the powerplay late in the frame, but controlled the puck in the offensive zone for very little of it. JETS 0 – OILERS 0
Not much happened in the opening two minutes of the 2nd, but the Jets tilted the ice after that for a bit. Daniel Torgersson used his speed to get to the low slot to test Brochu, Zhilkin wins a battle along the boards before stepping out in front and getting denied by a glove, Dylan Anhorn cycles the zone before he tried to pick a top corner only to be stopped by the knob of the tender’s stick, and Barlow creating an offensive zone turnover before setting up Yager for a high danger look. Milic continued to play well and Winnipeg got their 2nd powerplay when Yager wins a face-off so cleanly the Oiler facing him had to hook him up. The man-advantage still had problems with zone entries and only struck gold when Yager tried a short flip in to the slot with Zhilkin & Torgersson charging after the puck. When the Edmonton d-man couldn’t handle the bounce cleanly, the Russian was able to poke the puck over to the Swede, who had drifted to the open right wing. After so many chances in the tourney, Torgersson was finally rewarded with a goal as he hammered home a 1 timer. 1-0 WPG. Yager tried to add to that shortly after, but another rush into the slot was turned away. Then the Oilers took over for a bit and tested Milic on a counter-attack and then he totally robbed them from a low slot shot through traffic. A big hit by Anhorn led to a second scrap in the game (first involved Liwiski early in the match) and also an uneventful period of 4 on 4 play. When Torgersson was tripped up, Winnipeg used the extra attacker to try and add to their lead when Yager found Ben King for a dangerous 1 timer. The Jets actually had a few looks (Torgersson, Zhilkin, & King) on the PP and the period ended with Winnipeg leading in shots (25-19). JETS 1 – OILERS 0
An early 2 on 1 for the Jets almost increased the gap when Chibrikov tried to set up Barlow on a 2 on 1 rush…only to see the sniper fan on the shot. Winnipeg also made a goaltender change before the 3rd and Dominic DiVincentiis made a nice save on Edmonton’s first dangerous shot attempt. The two franchises equally controlled the puck for the next 5 minutes without really causing the opposing tenders much panic. A couple of Oilers had Chibrikov pinned along the boards by Edmonton’s bench and Barlow skated in and floored one of them. That resulted in a bit of wrestling match as the flattened Oiler jumped the player who hit him, but Winnipeg had to go on the penalty kill for first time of the game. A very adept kill saw very little rubber sent DiVincentiis’ way before the Jets went on the attack post-penalty (Chibrikov sets up Barlow & Yager gets another good look). With about 5 minutes remaining, Winnipeg’s 2nd line dumped the puck in the offensive zone and set after it. Barlow won a battle along the boards for the puck before he briefly cut towards the middle of the ice and sent a low shot (pass?) towards the Oilers’ net. Before the puck could get to Brochu, Henri Nikkanen deftly tipped it up & over the goalie’s butterflied pads. 2-0 WPG. Edmonton somehow avoids another penalty after Yager won a face-off, only to be cross-checked in the face and then jumped off-screen by the Oiler as the camera followed the puck. The young Jet never did remove his gloves like his opponent did, but somehow 4 on-ice officials were unable to find an infraction on the play. It didn’t matter though, as even pulling the goalie for an extra attacker couldn’t help Edmonton solve DiVincentiis before the final horn blew.
Final Score: Winnipeg 2 Edmonton 0
Goals for the Jets:
1st: Torgersson from Zhilkin & Yager
2nd: Nikkanen from Barlow
BOJA’s Observations:
- While there is no doubt that Brad Lambert’s absence made the Winnipeg Jets less deadly this afternoon, it did allow Brayden Yager to emerge from the Finn’s shadow. The 14th overall pick was all over the ice as his line dominated the puck and sent tons of rubber at the Oilers’ Brochu (who played very well).
- This match represented Colby Barlow’s best of the tournament as he was involved offensively, physically, and defensively. Paired with Yager and Nikita Chibrikov, the line offered a tempting vision of the trio suiting up for the Manitoba Moose this year. Too bad 2 out of 3 of them have to return to Juniors.
- A rare occurrence with tenders Thomas Milic & Dominic DiVincentiis combining for a shut out. Both masked men played very well, though this version of the Edmonton Oilers did only manage to score 1 goal in 3 contests.
- All four lines had their chances to get set up in the offensive zone in this one. The 1st line’s Kevin He & Jacob Julien wreaked havoc with their forecheck. Danny Zhilkin was the 3rd line’s best player although Carson Golder made the game’s nicest dish when he set up Ben King for a back-door chance. For the 2nd game of the tournament, Daniel Torgersson was a handful for opposing defenders…using his size & speed to get a bunch of scoring chances.
Well, another Young Stars Classic is in the books and the Winnipeg Jets’ actually ended with a winning record!! Not very common in recent seasons. Now the squad will be trekking back to the Peg to join their veteran teammates for upcoming Training Camp.
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