Nikolaj Ehlers netted a natural hat trick to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers Monday night at Rogers Place.
The Oilers outshot the Jets 21-11 in the first period but came out on the short end of a 2-0 score. Mark Scheifele and Dmitry Kulikov tallied for the Jets.
“We generated plenty, it didn’t go in for us but as it’s not going in, perhaps in the first 10 minutes of the game tonight, we begin to cheat,” said Oilers head coach Todd McLellan. “When the other team’s that disciplined and plays a well structured game, they take advantage of it. We’ve seen it two nights in a row.”
The Oilers finally broke through with 7:07 left in the second period. Connor McDavid freed a puck behind the net and centred it to Leon Draisaitl, who wristed in his first of the season. Just 40 seconds later, Darnell Nurse fed a streaking Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. His shot connected right under the cross bar to tie it 2-2.
But the Oilers couldn’t capitalize on their momentum. Ehlers scored goals 1:09 apart late in the second to restore Winnipeg’s two-goal cushion.
“We were giving up breakaways and add man rushes and when you do that you are going to end up on the losing side more often than not,” said Oilers forward Milan Lucic. “We have a good couple of days here until Saturday to regroup and go over what we need to do better because definitely the last two games, with the chances that we’ve been giving up, its unacceptable from a team standpoint.”
“The big concern is where we are with the mental state, and it was a concern heading into the season. We’re not near competitive enough, we’re not outworking teams. Consistently from minute one to 60 the last two games, we haven’t come close to outworking a team,” added McLellan.
Ehlers added a power play goal with 1:14 left in the third to cap off the natural hat trick.
“When does that not feel good?” said Ehlers. “I play with two good players where its back door tap-ins, so it feels pretty good.”
The Jets wound up outshooting the Oilers 43-39. Connor Hellebuyck made 37 saves as the Jets get their first win of the season.
The Oilers fall to 1-2. They’ll host Ottawa on Saturday.