The Edmonton Oilers continued their preseason schedule on Wednesday night following split-squad victories with the Calgary Flames on Monday. The Oilers defeated the Winnipeg Jets in their most recent result behind a big second period that saw the Oilers erase an early Winnipeg advantage. The final score in the game was 4-1 for Edmonton as they remain perfect in the preseason.
Oilers' scorers from the game
Oilers that had big nights were Mark Letestu and Jussi Jokinen. Letestu scored Edmonton's first goal on the powerplay and then assisted on a Jokinen goal later in the same frame.
Jokinen's goal was also on the powerplay, and he assisted on Letestu's early goal as well. The Finnish player and new member of the Oilers would add an assist on a Kailer Yamamoto goal late in the third period, an empty-netter that still counts as the rookie's second goal of the preseason.
The game was a promising one for the Oilers from many points of view. Two for four on the powerplay makes the grade while they kept the Jets to just one for five on their powerplay chances. Long-time Edmonton Oiler Ryan Nugent-Hopkins did not score himself. However, he did have three assists in the game. With chemistry a central issue in the preseason and finding the right linemates pivotal that Nuge worked well with Jokinen is a good development from the game.
As far as Edmonton Oiler prospects go Jujhar Khaira had his second goal of the preseason. Yamamoto's goal was his second as well but that it came on an empty net does mitigate it a bit as far as making an impression goes. Joey Laleggia had a quiet night for the Oilers, and you have to wonder if he will be heading down soon.
Good goaltending from Nick Ellis
The Jets, despite scoring just one goal, did outshoot the Oilers 35-24 in the game. Accordingly, Edmonton's goalkeepers had a good night in net. Laurent Brossoit, considered backup to Cam Talbot this season, posted a .929 save percentage in the game. Meanwhile, Nick Ellis, a 23-year old player that hasn't made the regular season in the NHL yet, had a clean sheet for his part.
He stopped all 20 shots that he faced and was a big reason that Winnipeg's power play was ineffective in the vast majority of their chances.
The next Oilers' preseason game will come from Edmonton. They will host the Vancouver Canucks in a game from Rogers Place that will be played on Friday. The start time for that game is 7 pm MT. Between now and then it will be interesting to see if there are any cuts or if the players battling it out for final spots will have more opportunities to showcase their skills. Coach Todd McLellan did speak to that (see footage below) and suggested that there will be cuts on Thursday.