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 The two clubs are miles out of the playoff race and in a heated
battle to the bottom to secure the highest chance of getting the No.
1 draft pick in this year's entry draft.
The Jets took a big step toward that goal Sunday night with a
hard-fought 2-1 loss to the Oilers.
"We know where we are in the standings," said Oilers left winger
Patrick Maroon, who opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the
season early in the second period. "You want to finish the year
strong and you never know what can happen in this game. It's a crazy
game. We want to keep putting good games together and hopefully good
things will happen."
Jets center Mark Scheifele, who scored his team's lone goal after
netting his first-ever NHL hat trick against Montreal just 24 hours
earlier, said playing games against teams close to them in the
standings are especially important.
"You want to be the team that comes out on top and creates some more
space. But we've got to continue to focus on our game and what we as
a team can do better and continue to do that," he said.
Scheifele, who leads the Jets in scoring with 21 goals despite only
playing in 53 games, nearly tied the game late in the second period
on a chance from in close but was stymied by Oilers goalie Cam
Talbot. He nearly tied it again late in the game, only to have his
shot ring off the iron.
"I hate the posts," Scheifele said. "I had a pretty good angle at
it. I thought it was definitely going in. It's a pretty
heartbreaking sound to hear."
Talbot shrugged when asked to explain his recent success. He has
allowed one goal or less in the last four games -- all victories --
and posted a save percentage of .979.
"That was more of a desperation save (on Scheifele). I was already
down and thinking he was going to shoot. He made a nice move to the
front and I just stuck my pad out there and got a piece of it," he
said.
"When a goalie gets on a roll, sometimes the puck seems a little
bigger and when you're not seeing the puck well, you can struggle.
Luckily for me, it's going in the right direction right now and I'll
try to keep it going as long as I can."
Oilers coach Todd McLellan said a combination of a hot goaltender
and a team that has recently adopted a "scrappy and tenacious" style
over the last two weeks is a recipe for success.
"It's just grown and guys are talking about it on the bench and
embracing it. It's not always pretty and we do get outshot at times
but we're finding ways to win with what we've got and the guys are
proud of that," he said.
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Jets coach Paul Maurice said his team needs to get better at
finishing their chances. They outshot the Oilers 40-31 and often
hemmed the Oilers in their own end for lengthy stretches.
"We missed the net eight times in the first period on some really
good looks. Probably 15 times over the course of the game. So, when
you put up 40 shots you say you've got enough, how do you maximize
more of what you get? I'm going to leave it at strength. Physical
and mental strength in the offensive zone. Being able to win one
more battle in front of the net, get loose in front of the net.
Yeah, I think I'd leave it at that, or play (Scheifele) more," he
said.
The Oilers played most of the game with just five defensemen after
Brandon Davidson went down with an injury early in the game.
Stepping up to fill a big part of the void was Adam Pardy, who was
claimed off waivers last week from the Jets, and played a
season-high 22 minutes and 45 seconds.
"Everybody was happy for him" McLellan said. "He led the stretch
today, he was in the starting lineup and he played more minutes than
he probably imagined because we went down to five so quickly. He's
only been with us for three or four games and he's really fit our
team well. The guys enjoy having him around."
NOTES: Winnipeg is buzzing over the official announcement Sunday
that the Jets will host a Heritage Classic outdoor game Oct. 23
against the Oilers. Of particular interest was the news that Dale
Hawerchuk, who played nine seasons with original Jets franchise, and
Wayne Gretzky, who led the Oilers to four Stanley Cups, will captain
the alumni teams for a game the day before. ... The Jets honored
Canada's military in a pregame ceremony that featured four soldiers
rappelling from the rafters down to ice level. ... The Oilers finish
their road trip 3-1-0. They had allowed two goals or fewer in six of
their previous seven games. ... In the press box for the Jets were
RW Anthony Peluso (upper body), LW Nikolaj Ehlers (face) and D Josh
Morrissey. Joining them from the Oilers are LW Luke Gazdic, RW Iiro
Pakarinen and D Nikita Nikitin.
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