The Winnipeg Jets may not have won Tuesday night, but fans still got to see Jonathan Toews in a Jets jersey for the first time.
They roared when he was introduced in the starting lineup, cheered loudly when he won the opening faceoff, but he was held off the scoresheet in a 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg’s second straight loss to begin the preseason.
Neither team scored in a fairly uneventful first period where Winnipeg outshot the Oilers 6-3.
The Jets had the lone power play of the first but the biggest moment happened in Winnipeg’s own end where Edmonton had the chance at an odd-man rush but Toews made a great backcheck to take the chance away.
Edmonton opened the scoring at the 7:39 mark of the second with a goal that felt like it happened in slow motion.
Noah Philp took the puck toward the corner in the Jets end and tried to slide the puck on goal. It glanced off the skate of Colin Miller and careened toward the crease, where Quinn Hutson tipped it high over the glove of Eric Comrie.
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Edmonton continued to be the better team in the second until a great shift from the Jets resulted in the equalizer.
The trio of Brad Lambert, Colby Barlow and Parker Ford put in the work to keep the puck alive in Edmonton’s end. Lambert made a great play along the boards before slinging the puck around the boards to the left point where Kale Clague collected it before sending it to the middle of the ice for Colin Miller.
His shot found its way through Calvin Pickard and the goal was initially credited to Colby Barlow for a deflection in front but it was later switched to Miller.
The game did not stay tied for too long, however, as Winnipeg was called for a high-sticking penalty and the Oilers took full advantage.
Isaac Howard took a cross-ice feed from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and wired it through Comrie from the faceoff dot to put the Oilers back in front just 2:05 after Winnipeg drew level.
Edmonton took the 2-1 lead to the third after a period in which they outshot the Jets 9-6.
Winnipeg had a couple decent looks to tie the game in the third, with both Barlow and Brayden Yager failing to convert in the slot before the Oilers picked up an insurance marker with 8:03 remaining.
The Jets were in control of the puck in their own end, with Miller sending it up the wall from behind the net but Perfetti lost the handle, sending it skittering back toward the corner. Philp picked it up and four Jets converged around him before he found a streaking Ty Emberson, who walked in and wired a wrister off the post and in to make it 3-1.
The Jets pulled Comrie with just under three minutes left and didn’t put a ton of pressure on the Oilers until there was just over a minute to go, when Barlow this time for sure redirected a Ville Heinola point shot through Matt Tomkins to make it 3-2.
Comrie remained on the bench as Winnipeg pushed for the tying goal in the final minute but they would get no closer.
Toews finished his preseason debut with 22 shifts, playing 18:36. He won 55 per cent of his draws and was a minus-one.
The Jets continue their exhibition schedule Friday night in Calgary.
