Oilers shut out Jets in Heritage Classic

WINNIPEG -- Edmonton Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot proved to be an unruly guest at the Winnipeg Jets outdoor hockey party.
Talbot made 31 saves for the shutout, the third in 19 regular-season outdoor games, when the Oilers defeated the Jets 3-0 in the 2016 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at Investors Group Field on Sunday.

"Certainly would have liked to give fans at least one reason to get out of their seats," Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said. "We couldn't do that for them, unfortunately. It was such a spectacular week here, especially for the city of Winnipeg. The game was a tough one."
Talbot made it difficult for the Jets by holding the fort in the first period, making 10 saves, with the Oilers (5-1-0) trying to find their footing. He has been a part of three outdoor games in the NHL, but this was his first time he saw action.
"I was really excited for this one, obviously, to get a chance to play in my first game," he said. "The atmosphere was great out there. The ice was in pretty good condition. It was just a heck of a weekend getting to have dinner with the alumni the other night and then have some fun in practice yesterday.
"It's always a lot of fun for the guys coming out here and getting to play in these games. I was just looking forward to taking it all in and hopefully come out with a big two points, which obviously we were able to get."

Talbot,
who became a first-time father with the birth of twins Landon Thomas and Sloane Colleen on Wednesday
, got his 12th career shutout (119 NHL games).
Center Mark Letestu, defenseman Darnell Nurse and right wing Zack Kassian scored in a span of 7:52 in the second period.
The Jets (2-3-0) are the 15th home team to lose in the 19 regular-season outdoor games played in NHL history. The road team is 14-4-1 and 9-3-0 since the start of the 2013-14 season.
The start of the game was delayed by almost two hours because of the presence of direct sunlight on the ice surface, which presented a potential danger to player safety. The temperature at puck drop was 50.1 degrees.
Letestu made it 1-0 on a shorthanded breakaway at 9:24 of the second period.
Defenseman Dustin Byfuglien misplayed the puck, allowing Letestu to break in alone on
Connor Hellebuyck
(29 saves) and beat him with a snap shot for the second shorthanded goal in outdoor game history.
"There wasn't any wow moment when I got the puck; it was more please score," said Letestu.

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Goal of the game

Letestu intercepted a pass by Winnipeg right wing Blake Wheeler and capitalized on a mistake by Byfuglien to score shorthanded.

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Save of the game

Hellebuyck made a series of three saves in 11 seconds late in the second period, stopping Leon Draisaitl on back-to-back wrist shots to start the sequence with 2:27 left in the second period.

Unsung moment of the game

A poke check by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on rookie Patrik Laine in the Jets defensive zone set up Kassian's goal at 17:16 of the second.

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Highlight of the game

Nurse gave the Oilers a 2-0 lead at 11:10 of the second, scoring on a pass from Connor McDavid on a 2-on-1 break eight seconds after Nurse was released from the penalty box.

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They said it

"It's icing on the cake. Going into it you want to enjoy the experience as much as you can, but most importantly, you want to get the two points. When you're playing well as team and things are going well it's a fun game to be a part of, especially when you walk away with two points." -- Oilers right wing Zack Kassian on his goal
"I thought in the first period we were the better team. We had some great chances. Cam came up with some great saves. We get a power play in the second and think we can go get the lead and then a bad bounce, a guy gets a breakaway and they score and then a guy gets out of the penalty box and all of a sudden you're down 2-0 when you're thinking you're playing an alright game." -- Jets center Mathieu Perrault on Edmonton's first two goals
"I just tried something stupid and they got the puck and scored. It was my mistake and my man. I just want to learn from that mistake and move on." -- Jets right wing Patrick Laine on his turnover that led to Edmonton's third goal

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Need to know

Miikka Kiprusoff of the Calgary Flames (2011 Heritage Classic) and Jonas Hiller of the Anaheim Ducks (2014 Stadium Series) have the other shutouts in outdoor game history. … After finishing with the second-fewest points in the League last season (71), Edmonton (5-1-0) is the first team to reach 10 points this season. … Winnipeg has led for 17:03 in its first five games.

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What's next

Oilers: Host the Washington Capitals on Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; SN1, SN360, SNO, SNW, CSN-DC, NHL.TV)
Jets: At the Dallas Stars on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET; FS-W, TSN-3, NHL.TV)