For the fourth straight game, the Jets opened the scoring at 11:11 of the first period when Mark Scheifele, working from below the goal line, found Kyle Connor in the slot for his 21st of the season to make it 1-0.
Edmonton tied the game at 17:02 when Kasperi Kapanen fooled everyone, including Connor Hellebuyck, by selling a wraparound before dropping the puck to Vasily Podkolzin, who beat Hellebuyck for his 10th of the year.
Winnipeg responded with two goals in 40 seconds late in the opening frame. Tanner Pearson restored the Jets’ one-goal lead by ramming a puck past Calvin Pickard at the side of the net for his fifth of the season, and shortly after, Josh Morrissey’s wrist shot bounced a few times and found its way into the back of the net to make it 3-1, his seventh of the year.
The Jets led 3-1 after 20 minutes while holding an 11-7 edge in shots, and everything went south from there.
In the final 40 minutes, Winnipeg had just five shots on goal, three in the second period and two in the third, while conceding three unanswered goals.
For the second straight game, the Jets allowed a goal in the final minute of the second period, this time courtesy of the greatest player in the world. Leon Draisaitl returned a pass to Connor McDavid, who slid behind the defense for a breakaway while Neal Pionk was caught in no man’s land and Connor failed to backcheck. McDavid beat Hellebuyck’s glove squad for his 29th of the season with just 21 seconds left.
Edmonton entered the second intermission trailing by one while outscoring Winnipeg 19-14.
Zach Hyman tied the game at 8:19 of the third after the Jets failed to clear the zone. Darnell Nurse found Hyman at the top of the right circle, where he walked in and fired a short-side shot over Hellebuyck for his 13th of the year.
Just over two minutes later, at 10:37, Evan Bouchard stepped in a wrist shot from center ice and blasted his ninth of the season past Hellebuyck’s glove, giving Edmonton its first lead of the night on the power play.
The Jets drew a late penalty but generated little with the man advantage, allowing the Oilers to hold on and hand Winnipeg its 20th loss in the last 23 games. The Jets fell to 15-22-5 and remain last in the NHL. Hellebuyck finished the loss with 26 saves.
“I’ve said it before about moments. There are 30 seconds left (in the second), and they have two of the best players in the world on the ice,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said after the game. “And we’re giving up a three-on-two. That’s not possible.”
Danny Zhilkin made his NHL debut, becoming the third member of the Jets’ 2022 draft class to reach the league, joining forward Brad Lambert and defenseman Elias Salomonsson. The 22-year-old centered the fourth line alongside Pearson and Cole Koepke, played just under seven minutes and finished plus-1.
“Yes, I thought he played great, the first game against a pretty good team,” Pionk said after the match. “He used his speed and showed his skill. It’s a shame we couldn’t get that for him, but we’re still happy for him.”
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