Mike Smith made 39 saves as the Edmonton Oilers pulled out a 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets Saturday night at Rogers Place.
“These are the games you want to play in. These are the games that get the juices flowing and why you play,” Smith said. “I’ve played for a long time and I’ve played in a lot of meaningless games at this time of year and that’s not fun at all so I think this is when it’s fun and when you want to play and when you want to play your best.”
Leon Draisaitl notched his 100th point of the season with a power play goal 6:27 into the game. It took Draisaitl 65 games to get to the century mark after needing 77 games last season. Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins assisted on the play.
“Is that good?” Smith asked of Draisaitl’s 100-point campaign.
“He touches so many parts of the game that are important parts–face offs, penalty kills–he does a lot of things our team needs and he does it with a swagger that, ‘I want to be the best at it’,” Smith said.
LISTEN BELOW: Mike Smith
The Jets carried the play in the second period and went ahead with two goals 34 seconds apart. Logan Shaw beat Smith on a breakaway, then Kyle Connor buried a feed from Blake Wheeler for his 33rd of the season.
The Oilers went on a power play late in the period, and Draisaitl knifed home a pass from McDavid with 11.8 seconds to go.
“I think we were better in the first period than they were,” Wheeler said. “I think they capitalized on a power play chance so I think that our first wasn’t an abomination of the game, it was still a good first period on the road.”
“You don’t want to go into games and just rely on your power play,” Draisaitl said. “We have to be better 5-on-5. We do have a good power play. Sometimes you have to win games that way–you win that way in the playoffs–and tonight was a little bit like a playoff game. A win is a win.”
LISTEN BELOW: Leon Draisaitl
With 5:16 to go in the third, Nugent-Hopkins stepped around a Jets defender, took a pass from Draisaitl, and snapped in his 19th of the season. Caleb Jones took a high sticking penalty with 4:44 left. The Oilers killed it off.
“You’re angry with yourself if you don’t come in with your best but you’re exceptionally frustrated when you play the way we did and you lose a hockey game because you know the stakes,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “But the next one’s gonna get played. The puck’s going to drop and you should be a hockey team coming into that one knowing that your game is right.”
The Jets pulled Connor Hellebuyck for an extra attacker with 2:30 on the clock. Smith made numerous stops down the stretch, including a sprawling glove save on Connor with 41 ticks remaining.
“You can tell playing sewerball with him, he’s a competitive guy,” Nugent-Hopkins said of Smith. “He’s a really good athlete. That helps him. He’s really good positionally but those extra effort saves he has to make, he can get there because he’s so athletic. All he wants to do is win and compete and it makes you want to compete in front of him.”
LISTEN BELOW: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins both had three points.
LISTEN BELOW: Head coach Dave Tippett
The Oilers, 34-23-8, will visit Nashville to start a three-game road trip on Monday.
With files from 630 CHED’s Brenden Escott and Scott Johnston
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