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Edmonton Oilers explode for four in the third to take down Winnipeg Jets

Edmonton Oilers explode for four in the third to take down Winnipeg Jets - image

Jesse Puljujarvi scored two of the Edmonton Oilers four third period goals in a 6-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets Saturday night at Rogers Place.

The Oilers run their pre-season record to 5-0.

“Good game. The whole team played well,” Puljujarvi said. “A couple power play goals for me, that’s nice.”

Michael Spacek gave the Jets the lead with a power play goal 4:51 into the game. The Oilers replied less than four minutes later when Jussi Jokinen and Brad Malone bagged goals just 17 seconds apart.

In the second period, J.C. Lipon tied it when a shot took a funny bounce off the glass. With Cam Talbot looking the other way, Lipon tapped the puck home for a power play goal.

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Puljujarvi helped give the Oilers the lead early in the third. He chipped a puck to a streaking Connor McDavid, who cut in from the right wing and beat Michael Hutchinson.

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The goal came after Puljuarvi replaced Ryan Strome on the Oilers top line.

“A number of things,” explained Oilers head coach Todd McLellan on the reason for the switch. “All of the penalties took a number of players out of the game and Jessie was one of them. Two, I thought Ryan Strome had to get a little harder and a little more competitive. And three, we wanted to get Jesse going and obviously he had a bit of a spark there and worked well with Connor [McDavid].”

Puljujarvi scored from in tight on the power play about five minutes later to make it 4-2. Malone tallied his second of the game with 8:14 left when he slid home the rebound from a Caleb Jones shot.

Puljujarvi added another power play goal with 4:24 left.

“It was good for him,” said McDavid on playing with Puljujarvi. “He’s a young guy. Confidence is everything.

“Feeling like you belong in this league, knowing that you can compete against these guys and be successful. For any young guy that’s the true battle. Hopefully this gives him confidence.”

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The Oilers outshot the Jets 40-22, including 21-6 in the third. Talbot made 20 saves for the win in net.

After the game, the Oilers assigned Jones, Grayson Downing, Joey Laleggia, and Ryan Mantha to Bakersfield of the AHL. They also placed Mitch Callahan and Keegan Lowe on waivers for the purpose of assignment.

The Oilers will host Carolina on Monday.

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