EDMONTON – Andrew Ladd scored the shootout winner as the Winnipeg Jets came away with a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
Blake Wheeler scored in regulation for the Jets (25-27-3), who have won three of their last four. Matt Hendricks responded for the Oilers (22-29-6), who have lost four of their last five games.
The game started slow with a scoreless first, and Edmonton holding an 8-5 lead in shots.
The Jets finally broke the deadlock seven minutes into the second period on a 2-on-1 break with Nikolaj Ehlers feeding Wheeler, who beat Oilers goalie Laurent Brossoit for his 15th of the season.
Brossoit made his first start of the season with Cam Talbot suffering from an illness and only his second career NHL start – the first a 49 save-performance against the San Jose Sharks last April.
He finished with 32 saves in defeat.
Edmonton had a good chance just past the midway mark of the middle frame on a short-handed breakaway for Teddy Purcell, but he wasn’t able to get a good shot away on Winnipeg goaltender Ondrej Pavelec, who made his first start since Nov. 2 after missing 33 games with a knee injury.
Pavelec finished with 21 saves for the win.