The Edmonton Oilers opened the pre-season Sunday night with a 2-1 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Place.
“There were a lot of really good signs,” Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft said post-game. “Things that we worked on showed up in the game and I thought the pace was good for the first exhibition game of the year.”
The Jets opened the scoring when Dominic Toninato beat Olivier Rodrigue on a breakaway eight minutes into the first. The Oilers evened it on a power play when Zach Hyman tapped the puck behind Collin Delia.
Delia kept the Jets alive in the second period with 13 saves, including a sprawling pad stop on Lane Pederson.
“I was actually a bit nervous before the game,” Oilers forward Brandon Sutter said of his first game action in more than two years. “I’m glad with how with went. I think for a lot of guys, there’s some new system things we’re trying and finding new ways to do things.”
Rodrigue came up with a big stop in the third, moving to his left to deny Jeff Malott with 6:38 on the clock. Less than 30 seconds later, Evander Kane jammed at a puck in the crease but had it go off the post.
“It’s definitely a different mindset going from junior and then going against real NHL players,” Oilers rookie defenceman Beau Akey said after his first NHL pre-season game. “It’s definitely a change of pace.”
“You can see why he was drafted where he was,” Woodcroft said of Akey. “He has poise, he’s competitive and he made a lot of really good plays with the puck and was unafraid of the stage.”
Hyman fired a shot off the crossbar in the final minute of the third.
Cole Perfetti scored the only goal in the shootout. Delia stopped Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kane while Lane Pederson shot wide.
Delia finished with 36 saves. Rodrigue made 25 stops.
The two teams will meet again Monday in Winnipeg. You can listen to the game live on 630 CHED, beginning with the Faceoff Show at 4:30 p.m. The game is at 6 p.m.