Wins and losses are not that big of a deal in preseason, which is a good thing for the Winnipeg Jets.
The Jets lost their third straight game to begin the exhibition slate, dropping a 4-0 decision to the Oilers in Edmonton Friday night.
Just shy of the midway point of the first, one of the few veterans in the Oilers’ lineup got on the scoreboard. Darnell Nurse took a pass in transition and blasted a shot from the point that went off the post and in to beat Domenic DiVincentiis at the 9:12 mark.
After a failed power play by the Jets, Edmonton doubled their lead thanks to a miscue from one of Winnipeg’s veterans.
Vladislav Namestnikov collected a loose puck in front of his own net and skated with it behind the net. As he skated towards the corner, he tried to send a pass to Ashton Sautner on the near boards but it was picked off by David Tomasek. He fed a wide-open Josh Samanski who roofed it past DiVincentiis from in close to make it 2-0 after 20 minutes.
Edmonton added to their lead early in the second. As the Jets went for a line change, Troy Stetcher took the puck in the neutral zone and dashed into the Winnipeg end, skating it in fairly deep before dropping it back to Noah Philp. Using Danny Zhilkin as a screen, Philp ripped a shot past DiVincentiis to make it 3-0 at the 2:26 mark.
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Winnipeg was unable to generate much in terms of offence in the period, with their best chance coming on a shorthanded 2-on-1 with Morgan Barron and Cole Koepke, who were perhaps the most impressive Jets forwards on the night.
The standout moment in the middle frame was when Tyrel Bauer dropped the gloves with Josh Brown and the two engaged in a long and spirited tilt.
Edmonton made it 4-0 at the 9:50 mark of the third thanks to a major defensive breakdown in the Jets’ end. The puck found its way to Andrew Mangiapane in front of the net, and two Jets defenders went to him as he shot the puck. Nobody was around to deal with a rebound as Kasperi Kapanen calmly collected it and roofed it past a helpless DiVincentiis.
Winnipeg managed to get 21 shots on goal but none of them beat Cal Pickard while DiVincentiis stopped 16 shots in defeat.
The Jets will play their third and final home preseason game Saturday night against Calgary when many of the Jets’ top players are expected to make their preseason debuts. Pregame coverage on 680 CJOB begins at 5 p.m. with game action starting just after 7 p.m.
