Oilers defeat Jets on lucky goal

EDMONTON --Edmonton Oilers center Mark Letestu was credited with the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory against the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Place on Sunday after Winnipeg rookie forward Patrik Laine inadvertently shot the puck into his own net in the third period.
Laine's mistake after Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck made a pad save on a Letestu slap shot gave Edmonton a 3-2 lead at 11:21.
"I kind of tried to get rid of the puck right away," Laine said. "It was just a bad position for me. An unfortunate goal."
The goal was Letestu's second of the night and helped Edmonton (15-11-5) end a four-game losing streak (0-1-3).

"I'm just trying to get a rebound out there, hoping for Connor McDavid] or [Milan] Lucic to bang it in," Letestu said. "Pretty fortunate for us that it goes in the way it does. But a good goal, we'll take it."
**[WATCH: All Oilers vs. Jets highlights**
Oscar Klefbom also scored for the Oilers, and goalie Cam Talbot made 29 saves for his first win in three starts.
Mathieu Perreault and Chris Thorburn scored, and Hellebuyck made 27 saves for the Jets (13-16-3), who have lost four games in a row (0-3-1).
Perreault scored at 14:50 of the first period to give Winnipeg a 1-0 lead after Bryan Little's shot hit the goal post.

Klefbom scored at 1:53 of the second period to tie the game 1-1 on a long rebound off a shot from Tyler Pitlick.
Thorburn put the Jets up 2-1 at 12:00 of the second when he one-timed a centering pass out of the corner from Marko Dano.
Oilers forward Zack Kassian appeared to tie the game when he scored on a breakaway off a long pass from defenseman Dillon Simpson, but the goal was waved off after Jets coach Paul Maurice challenged it, and video review showed Kassian was offside.
"I wasn't really certain at first because it's like looking through cheesecloth on the monitor on the bench there," Maurice said. "So we took the lid off it, and it was pretty clear."
Letestu scored his first of the night at 2:28 of the third period to tie it 2-2, taking a cross-crease pass from McDavid and lifting the puck over Hellebuyck.
Letestu has scored five of his six goals this season against the Jets. He has nine goals in 15 career games against them.
"I can't really explain it," Letestu said. "The puck just goes in on certain nights. I think it's just coincidental that it's been against this team. A really lucky third goal, and on the power play, Connor finds me in a good spot."

Goal of the game

On the power play, Lucic passed the puck across to McDavid behind the net. McDavid then sent a cross-crease pass to Letestu, who flipped the puck over Hellebuyck.

Save of the game

Hellebuyck stopped Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera's backhand shot from in close off a pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on a shorthanded 2-on-1 rush at 6:58 of the second period.

Unsung performance of the game

Oilers defenseman Kris Russell had a game-high four blocked shots in 24:08 of ice time.

Highlight of the game

Letestu took a slap shot from the right faceoff circle that Hellebuyck stopped, but Laine inadvertently put the rebound into the Jets net.

They said it

"He's 18 years old, he feels terrible. These things happen. I've done it many times. It's just a bad bounce. He's done a [heck] of a job for us this year. You just hate to see a guy feel that way after a game." -- Jets captain Blake Wheeler on rookie Patrik Laine scoring into his own net
"We didn't do much to earn breaks in the first two periods. We got after it a bit in the third. Our team was lethargic tonight. It wasn't a really good game. Fortunately, we came back and found a way to win. We'll put it in the bank and move on."-- Oilers coach Todd McLellan
"Tonight really wasn't our best effort. We were lackluster for two periods, but then the power play gets a big goal, and we catch a break. It's nice to get rewarded on a night you don't deserve it. There have been nights where we have, and it's gotten away from us, so to get one we maybe didn't deserve feels pretty good for the room." -- Oilers center Mark Letestu

Need to know

McDavid shot the puck into an empty net just after time expired with Hellebuyck on the bench for an extra attacker. It's the second time this season McDavid has failed to beat the clock. He missed scoring in overtime by one-tenth of a second in a 3-2 shootout loss at the Arizona Coyotes on Nov. 25. … Letestu has 11 points in 15 career games against the Jets. … Winnipeg has played a NHL-high 32 games in 60 days.

What's next

Jets: Host the Florida Panthers on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, FS-F, NHL.TV)
Oilers: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, FS-O, NHL.TV)