It was a high-stakes clash of a pair of top Western Conference Canadian rivals on Thursday night, as the defending conference champion Edmonton Oilers hosted the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Place. The Jets are the top team in the West and have aspirations of being the final team standing in June.
Ultimately, it was the Jets who secured both points in the standings with a 4-3 overtime win. The Oilers found the back of the net first, as first-year Edmonton forward Jeff Skinner scored his 12th goal of the season to give his club the 1-0 lead. Not long after, the Jets knotted the score at 1-1 thanks to a goal from Cole Perfetti, his 15th.
At nearly the exact same time of the second period as he scored in the first, Skinner notched his second of the game and 13th overall, putting the Oilers back on top. But once again, the Jets had the answer; this time, it was Josh Morrissey tying the game with his 11th goal.
Early in the third period, the Jets snagged the lead for the first time in the contest thanks to the first goal in a Winnipeg uniform by Brandon Tanev, who was acquired earlier in the month from the Seattle Kraken. Later in the period, the Oilers managed to secure a point in the standings with Zach Hyman's game-tying goal.
Just 1:13 into overtime, Winnipeg's Kyle Connor called game:
The Oilers lost goaltender Stuart Skinner in the third period to injury, he had made 13 saves on 16 shots. Cavin Pickard replaced him and stopped three of four shots. Meanwhile, Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves.
3 least impressive Edmonton Oilers players from 4-3 OT loss to Winnipeg Jets
#1. Viktor Arvidsson
It was a rough night for first-year Oilers forward Viktor Arvidsson. He finished with a team-worst -3 rating while contributing zero points as part of the loss to the Jets; he also had zero shots.
#2. Evan Bouchard
The Oilers defenseman wasn't at his best against the Jets, finishing with a team-worst -2 rating among his fellow defensemen. Like Arvidsson, he also had zero points and was also guilty of a giveaway.
#3. Stuart Skinner
Despite not playing the entire game thanks to his 3rd period injury, Skinner again was subpar between the pipes. He allowed three goals on the 16 shots he faced, finishing with an .813 save percentage.
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