The Edmonton Oilers won their fourth in a row, earning a hard fought 3-1 road victory over the Winnipeg Jets Thursday night.
The Oilers had several good chances around the Jets net in the first, but it was Winnipeg who would score first. Jets forward Cole Perfetti deflected in a pass from Mark Scheifele for a power-play goal with 1:33 left in the first period.
The Oilers killed off two Jets power plays in the second and had a chance to tie when Mattias Janmark broke in on a shorthanded breakaway. Jets goaltender Connor Hellebucyk came up with the stop to hold the Jets’ lead.
Darnell Nurse pulled the Oilers even with 6:49 to go in the third. His long wrist shot flubbed in off Hellebuyck’s glove.
Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi went off for holding Oilers captain Connor McDavid with 3:24 left. On the ensuing power play, McDavid set up Leon Draisaitl for his patented one-timer to give the Oilers the lead with 2:13 left.
Oilers forward Ryan McLeod sealed it with an empty-netter, his first of the season.
“Our team did a great job of not being detoured by the score, especially late in the third there,” Nurse said after the game.
“For us to just maintain our composure and just play our game was huge.”
Stuart Skinner got the win in goal with 25 saves. Hellebuyck stopped 36.
“The guys didn’t deviate from the game plan and stuck with it,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch.
“We got a bit of a break on the first goal, but I think it was deserved considering how many opportunities we had.”
Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard had an assist to extend his point streak to eight games.
The Oilers (9-12-1) will host the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday. You can listen to the game live on 630 CHED, beginning with The Faceoff Show at 6 p.m. The actual game starts at 7:30 p.m.
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