|
 Mathieu Perreault tipped home the deciding goal just 17 seconds
into overtime to lift the club to a 3-2 victory over the desperate
Edmonton Oilers before a sellout crowd at MTS Centre.
The diminutive center crashed to the net and redirected a point shot
from defenseman Jacob Trouba past Oilers goalie Ben Scrivens for
just his third goal of the season. The point was Trouba's third of
the night.
Jets right winger Dustin Byfuglien scored the tying goal, his fifth
of the campaign, with 3:06 left in the game.
Winnipeg improved to 13-9-4 and Edmonton fell to 6-15-5. The Oilers
are winless in their last 11 contests.
"There's no style points in the National Hockey League," said Jets
head coach Paul Maurice. "We didn't make it easy on ourselves. The
way we moved the puck was a real challenge for us tonight."
"We stayed in it. The bench was quiet at times, but we stayed in
it."
 Trouba scored his third goal of the year for the Jets in the first
period. It marked the seventh straight game the team has opened the
scoring.
Edmonton center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, with his sixth of the year, and
right winger Teddy Purcell, with his fourth, replied for the Oilers.
Purcell scored the go-ahead goal just 1:31 into the third period
when he tipped in a rebound off left winger David Perron's shot off
the bar. The goal was originally awarded to Perron.
But Byfuglien's brilliant deflection off a point shot by Mark Stuart
at 16:54 pulled the hosts even. The big winger, stationed to the
right of Scrivens, tucked his stick between his skates and
redirected a shot that was destined to go wide.
In overtime, Perreault got just enough of Trouba's cannon from just
inside the blue line to deflect it past Scrivens.
"I didn't see it go in," said Perreault. "It was just one of those
plays where you go to the net, it hits your stick and goes in."
Scrivens finished with 23 saves, while Winnipeg goaltender Ondrej
Pavelec blocked 22 shots.
Though they got a point, the Oilers' streak of futility continued.
Edmonton has not defeated a Western Conference rival this season.
[to top of second column] |
"It doesn't matter what we deserve. We didn't get it, so we've got
to continue to work at doing the things that we think will make us
successful," said Scrivens, when asked if his club deserved a better
fate.
"(We're) getting a lot of pity points right now, but it doesn't mean
a lot if we can't start getting in the win column."
The Jets trailed 2-1 for much of the third period and had Pavelec to
thank for keeping them close. He made at least two brilliant saves
with the Oilers pressing, and got a bit lucky when two other shots
clanked off posts.
"It's a good win for us," said Pavelec. "It's not easy to play
against them. They have so many skilled players, so you kind of
never know what to expect. I think we battled. That's a huge word
for us -- battle."
NOTES: Edmonton RW Jordan Eberle played in his 300th NHL game on
Wednesday night in Winnipeg. ... Jets D Toby Enstrom missed his
fourth straight contest with a lower-body injury, a day after being
placed on injured reserve. D Ben Chiarot, recalled from the St.
John's IceCaps of the American Hockey League, dressed in his place.
... Playing just his second game of the year, RW Tyler Pitlick
skated on Edmonton's top line with C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and LW
Taylor Hall. He was promoted from Oklahoma City of the AHL last
weekend. ... Winnipeg assistant coach Charlie Huddy played 694 games
on defense with the Oilers and was a part of all five Stanley Cup
winning teams in the '80s and 1990. ... Edmonton hosts San Jose on
Sunday and then heads to San Jose for the rematch next Tuesday. The
Jets, meanwhile, host the Colorado Avalanche on Friday and the
Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
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