GAME RECAP: Oilers 6, Jets 3

EDMONTON, AB - It was the Edmonton Oilers who were flying high to pick up the 6-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Place on Friday night.
Kailer Yamamoto, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl all scored twice on the evening to pace the Oilers offence. Connor McDavid, who had scored twice in each of his last five games, failed to continue his goal scoring streak but finished the evening with three assists to push his league-leading total to 121 points.
The Jets made what was mostly a lopsided game a little more interesting in the third period. The visitors saw goals by Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Mark Scheifele, and Brenden Dillon to make a game of it, but the Oilers held on for their 34th victory of the season.
Stuart Skinner notched his 17th win of the season in what was his third consecutive start, while former Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck was pulled after two periods for allowing four goals on 24 shots.
The Oilers and Jets won't have to wait long for a rematch. The two teams will get together tomorrow night at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg for the second game of the back-to-back, home-and-home set.

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FIRST BLOOD

You've seen it many times before -- Leon from 'The Spot' on the power play.
With Kyle Connor in the box for tripping Connor McDavid, the Oilers historic man advantage got to business. Nugent-Hopkins collected a bouncing puck in the slot and poked it directly to Leon Draisaitl for the sharp-angle one-timer to open the scoring 2:06 into the game.
The marker was Draisaitl's 37th of the season and his 24th on the power play, tying his career high for special teams goals set last year.
Although he didn't get an assist on the scoresheet, it was Evan Bouchard who made the goal possible by knocking down a Jets clearing attempt at the blueline shortly before the goal.

YAM HAS THE JAM

This season has been far from the one Kailer Yamamoto envisioned after his 41-point (21G, 20A) campaign last season, but the skilled and scrappy forward is beginning to show signs of finding his game.
The 24-year-old has had a few stop-and-go moments this year, having to regain his footing after a pair of injuries that kept him out for over two months combined. Yamamoto admitted before the game he has started to feel a little closer to his normal self, and Friday night against the Jets was confirmation that he was right.
Yamamoto scored twice on the night, including a beautiful breakaway marker for a 3-0 Oilers advantage to give the Spokane, Wash. native four goals in his last five games. His second of the night came just 40 seconds after his solo effort, marking the fastest two goals scored by an Oilers player since Taylor Hall scored twice in eight seconds against the New York Islanders back on Oct 17, 2013.

Yamamoto later added an assist on Draisaitl's second of the night to give him his first three-point game since New Year's Eve last season.
"This year, it's been a little bit of a roller coaster for me playing, getting injured, playing, getting injured. I haven't really been able to get into a good rhythm, but I've been feeling good these last few games," Yamamoto said after the game.
"It's tough. It's almost like you're just losing your rhythm again," he added. "But, the more games you play, the better you get back into it. So, I'm taking it just game-by-game and keep going forward."

NUGE ON THE LOOSE

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins career season continued with another two goals and two assists on Friday night against the Jets.
The longest-serving Oiler helped them get on the board with the primary assist in the first period, and he would double the advantage at the beginning of the second. Winnipeg defender Dylan DeMelo quickly tried to clear a loose puck from the zone, but the exit attempt would land directly on the blade of Nugent-Hopkins. The puck wouldn't be on his stick for more than a second before it was fired low blocker side on Hellebuyck for his 29th goal of the season.
Nugent-Hopkins' contributions came at both ends of the ice. With the Jets on a partial 2-on-1, the 29-year-old busted his tail to derail the Winnipeg attack. The defensive effort proved fruitful, directly leading to Kailer Yamamoto's breakaway goal just three seconds later. While Mattias Ekholm didn't receive an assist on the tally, he maybe deserved one with a subtle stick boost to the back of Nuge's pants to help the Oilers forward gain some extra speed on the backcheck.
"I think it gave me a little boost. I mean, I just caught (the puck) with the very tip of my stick, so honestly, it probably helped," Nugent-Hopkins said. "It was a good little push by Ekholm there."

Nugent-Hopkins added his fourth point of the game on the power play, finishing off a brilliant McDavid pass to give the Oilers a 5-0 advantage. The goal was his 30th of the season, marking the first time Nugent-Hopkins has eclipsed that plateau in his 12-year career.
"I want to bear down a little bit after last year in front of the net. I mean, guys are just finding me with great passes and I just know that I need to step up a little bit offensively and help produce and still try to play that two-way game," he said of his career year. "I think it just goes to show the way that we're rolling as a team right now, and individual stuff kind of comes from a team playing well."

CHEEKY DRAISAITL

Draisaitl became the third Oilers forward to score twice in the evening, firing home his 38th of the season on David Rittich to give Edmonton a 6-1 third period lead. The goal was the result of a heady play by the Oilers sniper. Draisaitl was pushed from behind into the Winnipeg Jets net, leading to a delayed penalty but also a dislodged net. The 27-year-old had the foresight to pick up net and place it back on its moorings to keep the play alive.

Draisaitl eventually ended up receiving the pass at the right circle and picking his spot on Rittich -- a spot not much bigger than the puck itself for the insurance marker.
"I did not (see Leon putting the net back on), but that shot was insane," Yamamoto said. "I watched the replay like, oh my gosh, there's not too many players you can make that shot from that distance. I was like, wow."

PARTING WORDS

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft on the Oilers effort tonight against the Jets
"I thought our effort was great. Work rate was where it needed to be. The ability to draw as many penalties as we did was a credit to the way we were skating tonight. We built a big lead and found a way to get the win."
Woodcroft on Kailer Yamamoto's performance on the night:
"He's had kind of an injury riddled year, so it's nice to have him back in line up here. I can move him around. I feel good about that. I still think there's more there. I'm happy for him that he got a couple of goals. He probably could have had a couple more, which is great because he's finding himself in those chances. I still want him to continue to play without pause in his game, and sometimes that's from the offensive zone back to the defensive zone. I think you get that the more you kind of get back up to speed and into your own personal rhythm."

Woodcroft on the play of the Bouchard - Ekholm pairing through two games:
"I think he (Bouchard) is doing well. I think the pair has been good for us. The other day, I said that I think Ek inspires confidence in the people on the ice with him. I think for a younger partner to be able to look over and see someone with his level of experience and confidence and poise, I think that would help anybody, and certainly that pair has been a good pair for us."
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the Oilers performance against the Jets:
"I think with early power plays, you want to get at least momentum, and I thought we did a good job of that and just kind of built our game from there. At the same time, Stu made some good saves for us to make sure that we could get going and get our offence rolling. I thought it was a pretty solid 60 minutes."
Nugent-Hopkins on his swollen lip from a high-stick:
"Yeah, it's just a little weird. It's just a little swollen. It's not too cut up, actually. It's just swollen a little bit difficult to talk. No stitches, no teeth gone. So just a fat lip."
Nugent-Hopkins on Kailer Yamamoto's play tonight:
"I thought that he was just hungry on pucks right from the get go. I mean, I think that's when he's playing his best is when he's tenacious and really going in there and creating loose pucks. I thought he was doing that early and it kind of led to production for him."
Kailer Yamamoto on nearly scoring a hat trick against the Jets:
"I know. I should have had like four or five, I think, in that second period, but glad I got two of them."
Yamamoto on what his excellent game did for his confidence:
"It's huge. I mean, anytime you're playing with Leo and Nuge, and they're both going, it's pretty easy for yourself to get going as well. So, I'm happy I got two on the board and an assist, but it was a good team win."