Jets at Oilers
Denied in their bid to move into a tie with Vegas atop the Pacific, the Edmonton Oilers resume their bid for a division title when they continue a four-game homestand against the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night. The Oilers dropped three points behind the first-place Golden Knights after suffering a 3-2 overtime loss to visiting Vegas on Monday.
Connor McDavid was not available due to illness in Monday's loss and his absence showed as Edmonton was outshot by a 2-to-1 margin without its superstar captain. “This is as disconnected as we’ve been in a long time. And it's ... a number of games," coach Dave Tippett said. "We can’t continue to play like that and feel like we’re a good team.” McDavid did not practice Tuesday and his status remains uncertain for Winnipeg, which is among five teams separated by four points in the race for the two wild cards in the Western Conference. "We're happy with where we're at. But we've still got a couple other levels to get to," forward Nikolaj Ehlers said after the Jets completed a perfect three-game homestand with a 4-2 victory over Arizona on Monday.
TIME: 9 p.m. ET. TV: TVAS, Sportsnet
ABOUT THE JETS (36-28-6): The recently formed line of Ehlers, Cody Eakin and Patrik Laine has been huge in the last two victories over Vegas and Arizona, combining for four goals and 11 points. Ehlers had a goal and two assists while Winnipeg-born Eakin notched his first tally with the Jets since he was acquired just before the trade deadline. "We've been able to create some good chemistry," Ehlers said. "We still have some things we need to clean up. But it's nice to see that it's going the right way and we're making plays."
ABOUT THE OILERS (37-24-9): McDavid met with the training staff Tuesday morning and Tippett told reporters there's a a good chance he will play. With McDavid out, Edmonton's other No. 1 overall pick continued his stellar play in Monday's loss as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins extended his point streak to six games -- a stretch in which he has four goals and seven assists. Needing one assist to reach 40 for the second straight season, Nugent-Hopkins has amassed 41 of his 61 points over the last 29 games dating to New Year's Eve.
OVERTIME
1. Winnipeg was riding a seven-game point streak (6-0-1) in the series before dropping a 3-2 decision at Edmonton on Feb. 29.
2. Oilers F Leon Draisaitl, the league's runaway leading scorer, has eight goals and 18 points in 15 matchups against Winnipeg.
3. Jets leading scorer Mark Scheifele has six goals in his last nine games overall and six in 19 meetings versus Edmonton.