GAME RECAP: Jets 2, Oilers 1 (SO)

EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Oilers dropped their pre-season opener at Rogers Place on Sunday, falling 2-1 in a shootout to the Winnipeg Jets.

Dominic Toninato opened the scoring in the first frame for the visitors before the Oilers power play cashed in on their first opportunity through Zach Hyman, who was part of a veteran line with Evander Kane and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins that led by example all night for Edmonton.

"I thought it was a good game for our team. There were a lot of really good signs," said Head Coach Jay Woodcroft. "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. I thought our veteran line of Nugent-Hopkins, Kane and Hyman really set the competitive tone for the game, and then we got really good contributions up and down the lineup."

Collin Delia slammed the door shut between the pipes for the Jets with 36 saves, and Cole Perfetti tallied the lone goal of the deciding breakaway showdown to give the visitors the victory. Oliver Rodrigue made 25 saves in Edmonton's defeat.

The teams will meet again in Winnipeg on Monday to close out back-to-back games with another Oilers+ broadcast. Fans who aren't yet subscribed can receive their first month free when they sign up on a monthly basis. Click here and use the code PRESEASON23 to activate this promotion.

FIRST PERIOD

The first period of the preseason for the Oilers saw the Blue & Orange fall behind, but battle back before the intermission thanks to their potent power play – even without the services of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the lineup.

A clearance from Brendon Dillon for the Jets near the game’s eight-minute mark skipped over the stick of Evan Bouchard at the blueline and sent Dominic Toninato in alone on a breakaway before the Jets forward slid the go-ahead goal five-hole under Oilers netminder Olivier Rodrigue.

But with every Oilers power play comes the expectation that the puck is going to end up in the back of their opponent’s net. Brendon Dillon, the creator of Winnipeg’s opening marker, was tagged for a cross-checking penalty to send the Oilers to the man advantage and provide the platform to tie the game.

Despite their full NHL roster not being in action this early in the preseason, the Oilers could still roll out a PP1 unit of Evander Kane, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman and Lane Pederson.

Just like their ’22-23 record-setting power play, the Oilers cashed in.

Nugent-Hopkins let loose a wrist shot from the top of the right circle that was converted off the rebound by Zach Hyman on his second attempt, equalizing the score at 1-1 before the first intermission.

After weathering early Jets pressure with 12 shots against in the opening nine minutes, Edmonton settled in defensively by allowing only one shot over the rest of the frame.

SECOND PERIOD

Evander Kane certainly left his mark on what ended up going down as a scoreless second period.

The winger was forced into taking a professional tripping penalty in the first five minutes of the frame after it looked like the Jets were about to take off up the ice on an odd-man rush while shorthanded.

Kane created a golden opportunity upon his release from the penalty box when he received the forward pass from Edmonton’s own end before button-turning in the left circle and connecting a pass to the stick of centre Lane Pederson at the back post, but the Winnipeg goalie made a big left-pad save.

The 32-year-old had his best chance at scoring in the second frame stopped emphatically by the glove of Delia at 5:09 of the second period before his veteran line with Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman nearly took the lead. Hyman’s sneaky pass from behind the goal line found No. 93, but Delia once again flashed the pad to prevent the go-ahead Oilers goal before the intermission.

The Oilers earned two more power-play opportunities in the period, but couldn’t convert on either chance. After deploying a veteran first unit, Edmonton’s PP2 was a mix of NHL regulars and up-and-comers in forwards Warren Foegele, Xavier Bourgault, Dylan Holloway and defencemen Beau Akey and Darnell Nurse.

THIRD PERIOD

Both netminders between the pipes tonight were proving to be tough to crack.

Delia was once again up to the task for the Jets with 6:57 remaining in regulation with a sprawling save on Dylan Holloway, who looked sharp in Edmonton’s pre-season debut.

Less than a minute later, Rodrigue was called upon to make arguably his biggest stop of the hockey game by sliding across to take away the one-timer for Jeff Malot, who uncorked a low shot that was kept out by the pad of the Oilers goalie.

Pushing to end the game before overtime, the iron was all that prevented Edmonton from walking away with the pre-season win in regulation.

Hyman sent the puck to the back post off another one of his wrap-arounds, but Kane struck the post with his quick shot that slid along the ice. In the final minute, it was Hyman once again unleashing a heavy wrist shot that could’ve allowed Edmonton to exit their pre-season opener, but his effort struck the crossbar and bounced away from danger.

The first of back-to-back games between these two teams would require overtime.

OVERTIME & SHOOTOUT

The Oilers had a three-on-one rush between Nugent-Hopkins, Hyman and Kane that should’ve spelled the end of the contest, but the trio wasn’t able to generate a shot after the puck slid through the danger area and into the corner unscathed.

In a big boost to their young confidence, Head Coach Jay Woodcroft put out a trio of rookies in Beau Akey, Xavier Bourgault and Dylan Holloway, with the group able to generate a dangerous chance before the end of the sudden-death period.

Cole Perfetti was able to shovel one over the right side of Rodrigue for the first shootout goal before Lande Pederson’s shot sailed wide, ending the contest 2-1 in favour of Winnipeg.

PARTING WORDS

Coach Woodcroft on the play of Philip Broberg as he tries to secure a full-time roster spot this season:

"I just want them to be themselves. I thought Philip looked very comfortable. He made some really good plays with the puck. I thought he separated people from the puck defensively and was able to accelerate out. That's the Philip Broberg we got to see in the American Hockey League on a day-in, day-out basis. He's somebody that I think is just growing into who he can become, and today was a good first exhibition game for him.

Coach Woodcroft on the veteran line of Nugent-Hopkins, Kane and Hyman:

"I think it was an opportunity to get them a home exhibition game early, and what I really liked is you can have the attitude of, 'Oh, I have to go play this game.' But I thought all three of them displayed a fantastic attitude and they set the competitive tone for the rest of the group. They had numerous chances. They were buzzing. They did some good things defensively, and I was quite pleased. And when they play that well together, it's a little kernel in your mind that says, 'Oh, maybe if I ever have to change things up, that's something that maybe we could go to.'

Coach Woodcroft on the takeaways from Sunday towards implementing some new tactics this Training Camp:

"I thought we saw good results from that today, and we're not reinventing the wheel here. There are angles you can take, and people are adjusted by a few feet here or there, but I think the true measure of where we want to get to is to be able to turn that type of structure into turnovers so that you can go the other way quickly. Also, I think it sets you up for some rehearsed retrievals, which when you're predictable to each other, it means you spend less time in your own zone."

Akey on adjusting to the NHL pace in his pre-season debut for the Oilers:

"Yeah, it's definitely different. You go from junior, and then you're going against NHL players, real NHL players, and it's definitely a change of pace and you're thinking that 'Oh, I've got to be good this shift because I'm going against those guys."

Sutter on how he felt as he gets back up to speed on a PTO from two years away from hockey:

"Probably the defensive stuff is kind of more natural. I think just the touch of the puck and reading plays when you have it is a little bit tricky. A couple of times I found little plays, get the puck on your stick and you just lose it or fumble it or whatever, but it just takes some time. All in all, I'm happy with how it went and it's really nice to get that first one under me."