That’s it.
It’s over.
The Edmonton Oilers season is done.
Kyle Connor scored in triple overtime to give the Winnipeg Jets a 4-3 win over the Oilers in game four, a game which lasted into the early hours of Tuesday morning, sweeping the Oilers out of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
LISTEN: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins & Tyson Barrie speak after Oilers are swept from playoffs following 4-3 triple OT loss to Jets
“We battled all night,” said an emotional Ryan Nugent-Hopkins after the game. “There’s not much to say except it’s tough to swallow right now.”
The Oilers bench boss was equally as disappointed.
“We were expecting more in the playoffs,” said head coach Dave Tippett. “It was a tight, tight series and we couldn’t find a way to get on top of it.”
With Adam Larsson in the box for holding, Mark Scheifele banged home a one-timer to give the Jets the lead. The Oilers came back 1:17 later when Connor McDavid scored his first of the series by tucking a wraparound behind Connor Hellebuyck. Mason Appleton restored the Jets lead with a deflection goal late in the first.
Early in the second, Nugent-Hopkins tracked down his own rebound and flipped a backhand past Hellebuyck for his first of the post-season. Later, Alex Chiasson found a loose puck in front on the power play and slid it home to give the Oilers a 3-2 edge.
Scheifele took advantage of an Oilers giveaway to make it 3-3 with 13:59 left in the third.
In the first overtime, Kailer Yamamoto took a penalty for tripping Nik Ehlers. Late in the power play, Appleton drilled a shot off a face-off, but Mike Smith made the save. With just over two minutes to go in the session, Ehlers had a point blank look but was turned away by Smith.
The penalty to Yamamoto was a particular point of concern after the game for Tippett.
“You call that one, but there were three or four just like that that weren’t called,” said Tippett. “You set a precedent in overtime and then you don’t go with it. That’s the frustrating part.”
LISTEN: Oilers head coach Dave Tippett speaks after Oilers 4-3 triple OT loss
Smith denied Appleton again off a face-off in the second overtime. Leon Draisaitl was open for a one-timer in the slot but blasted it wide.
The Oilers killed off a penalty early in the third overtime after Gaetan Haas was called for shooting the puck over the glass. Connor ended the game at 6:52 of the frame, storming down the right wing and firing a shot past Smith’s blocker.
Smith finished with 39 saves while Hellebuyck made 37 stops.
It was the third-longest game in Oilers history.
LISTEN: Connor McDavid & Darnell Nurse speak after Oilers lose 4-3 in triple OT
“We don’t need to leave here and think we need to re-right the ship,” said McDavid. “Those lessons we’ve learned throughout the years, it’s obviously another lesson we have to take with us moving forward.”
The Jets will now face either the Toronto Maple Leafs or Montréal Canadiens in the second round.
with files from 630 CHED’s David Boles
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