PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Jets

The Edmonton Oilers aim to win their fourth straight game on Thursday night at Rogers Place against the Winnipeg Jets.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet West at 7:00 pm MDT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880 CHED.

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EDMONTON, AB – Time to put this three-game win streak to the test.

Coming off a 7-1 dismantling of Utah Hockey Club, the Edmonton Oilers will face a tough challenge in winning their fourth in a row on Thursday night at Rogers Place against one of the powerhouses of the NHL in the Western Conference-leading Winnipeg Jets.

The Oilers can retake first place in the Pacific Division from the Vegas Golden Knights if they earn a result against the Jets and the Golden Knights fail to win against the Bruins, but it won’t by an easy task against a Winnipeg team that’s one win away from crossing the 100-point threshold this season with a record of 47-18-4.

But if the Oilers continue to do what’s made them successful recently, showcasing the ability to put up seven goals like they did on Tuesday and holding their opponents to one goal in each of their last three games, there aren’t many teams that can match them.

The Jets are one of the few in the League who can.

The Jets may have had an off night defensively against the Canucks on Tuesday by giving up four goals in a 6-2 defeat, but they've allowed a league-low 162 goals in 69 games this season (2.34 per game) and possess a +77 goal differential that's +26 better than next Western Conference team in Dallas (+51).

Offensively, it was uncharacteristic for them as well, with the Jets owning a 41-2-1 record this season in games where they score three-plus goals.

That will prove to be a major test for the Oilers and their three-game win streak where they've allowed only one goal in each game – a stretch aided by Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard stopping a combined 74 of 77 shots (.961 save percentage) over their last three starts and Edmonton's overall defensive game really starting to come around.

Combined with Tuesday's offensive explosion, the Oilers are in a good place with 15 regular-season games remaining.

“I think we’re just playing quicker with the puck and we're not putting ourselves in positions where we can turn it over,” forward Viktor Arvidsson said on Wednesday. “I feel like that's a part of our game that we need to improve on and get better at, but I think that's a key to not getting stuck in the D zone.”

Arvidsson’s line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Vasily Podkolzin all found the scoresheet in Tuesday’s dominating performance against Utah, with the Swedish forward scoring in back-to-back games and registering goals in three of his last six.

"I just try to work on my shot every practice and stuff, and I feel like it's been coming," Arvidsson said. "I feel I've been creating, but the puck hasn't gone in. I just try to play my game every single game, and every practice, I try to work hard and that's been my game through my whole career."

Nugent-Hopkins has been on another level over the last two games for the Oilers, scoring his 17th goal of the season shorthanded in the first period and adding two assists to give himself eight points (1G, 7A) over his last seven games and six points (1G, 5A) over his last two.

Nuge has been thriving as Edmonton’s third-line centre, which has enabled him to get more puck touches and become more involved in plays as opposed to playing on the wing – much to the benefit of the Oilers by giving them a spine of McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins and Henrique down the middle.

“Ryan's been playing really well, but that line together has been playing well collectively,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. “I think with Ryan, his best games this year in my opinion have been him playing centre... You touch the puck probably twice as much than if you're on the wall, and when you do touch it, you're moving and you've got a little bit of space rather than having a defenceman coming down on you.”

Nugent-Hopkins was one of four Oilers to register three points on Tuesday, including Zach Hyman scoring his 23^rd and 24^th goals to go along with an assist. Captain Connor McDavid stretched his point streak to 12 games (4G, 14A) with a goal and two helpers, becoming the first player in NHL history to record a three-point game against all 32 teams, but Leon Draisaitl wasn’t able to register a point to keep his career-best 18-game point streak going.

The German forward will be searching for his 50^th goal of the season against the Jets.

Mattias Ekholm marked his return from a six-game injury absence with a goal and two assists playing alongside Evan Bouchard, while Darnell Nurse and Jake Walman filled out the Oilers second defensive pair. The arrival of Walman at the Trade Deadline gives the Oilers four bonafide top-four defencemen and a left shot who’s comfortable playing on the right side of the blueline.

“I'm comfortable with that,” he said. “I think there are things that open up when you're on your offside too that aren't open when you're on your strong side, so there’s kind of a variety of things that you can do. I'm comfortable wherever they put me.”

After Brett Kulak, the Oilers now have plenty of depth to choose from for their sixth defence spot between Troy Stecher, John Klingberg and Ty Emberson – all right-shot defencemen – with Emberson serving as the healthy scratch on Tuesday against Utah.

Klingberg has practiced in full on back-to-back days for the Oilers, so the Swede’s return to the lineup could come as soon as Thursday against the Jets as a battle brews on the blueline before playoffs.

"I think it's clear who our top five are who aren't going to be in and out of the lineup, and then you've got a bunch of right-handed defencemen and we'll see what's best for our group," Knoblauch said. "Each guy provides a little bit of a different identity and strengths to our team, and I guess it's important to find out what strengths we want or which ones we value the most – whether this guy kills a little bit more, maybe a little more offence, a puck mover, or maybe it's a guy that does a little bit of everything."

At Wednesday's practice, Knoblauch acknowledged maintenace days for McDavid, Draisaitl, Hyman and Ekholm, who didn't participate in the skate, but said that some guys are game-time decisions for tomorrow's visit from the Jets.

Both Ekholm and Hyman made their respective returns from injury on Tuesday, but the bench boss didn't reveal which of the aforementioned players are possible doubts.

"We'll give you that information tomorrow. You just have to wait," he said.