Jets roll over Oilers for first win
EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Winnipeg Jets put an end to their losing streak, and extended Edmonton's, with a gritty and convincing 5-2 victory over the Oilers on Monday at Rogers Place.
The Jets built 2-0 and 4-2 leads en route to their first win of the season after giving up 13 goals in their first two games of the year.
Nikolaj Ehlers had a hat trick, and Dmitry Kulikov and Mark Scheifele added goals in the win. Connor Hellebucyk (37 saves) gave the Jets some much needed clutch goaltending.
The Jets took an early penalty and found themselves trailing 10-2 in shots at the seven-minute mark. However, they still took a 1-0 lead when Scheifele batted down a pass from Kulikov in the slot and snapped it into the net before Oilers goalie Cam Talbot could get set at 8:56 of the first period.
With the shots 12-4 Edmonton, it was 1-0 Winnipeg.
The Jets went up 2-0 at 16:27 of the first when Kulikov was allowed to walk to the top of the faceoff circle and whip a wrist shot past Talbot, who wasn't screened on the play.
Hellebuyck stopped all 20 shots he faced in the opening period to give Winnipeg a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.
The Oilers (1-2-0) finally broke with two goals 40 seconds apart midway through the second period. Center Leon Draisiatl took a pass from Connor McDavid and put it inside the far post at 12:53. Center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins split the defense and scored on a breakaway on the very next shift.
However, the Jets appeared the more desperate of the two teams, and showed it late in the second when they restored their two-goal lead on back-to-back goals from Ehlers. He put a wrist shot inside the post at 16:48 and scored from back door at 17:57.
Ehlers completed the hat trick with a power-play goal at 18:46 of the third.
Winnipeg's Blake Wheeler had three assists, Scheifele added two, and Ehlers had one.
NOTES: The Oilers put rookie RW Kailer Yamamoto back in the lineup after scratching him Saturday in Vancouver. Oilers RW Anton Slepyshev made his debut after missing all of the preseason with an ankle injury. They took the places of RW Drake Caggiula (injured) and LW Jujhar Khaira (scratch). ... Jets D Jacob Trouba was minus-5 in the first two games of the season. He was a plus-1 on Monday. ... The 13 goals against the Jets in their first two games of the regular season were a franchise worst. The previous record was 11 during the Atlanta Thrasher years in 1999-2000. ... The Jets went 7-13-1 against the Pacific Division last year and 2-10 against the four Pacific Division playoff teams.