By Canadian Press

Winnipeg Jets top line leads win over Edmonton Oilers in pre-season win

Sep 25, 2023 | 7:59 PM

WINNIPEG — Laurent Brossoit made 26 saves and the Winnipeg Jets’ new top line showed a glimpse of what’s to come in the team’s 5-0 pre-season victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.

Centre Mark Scheifele and right-winger Gabriel Vilardi set up Kyle Connor for a power-play goal late in the first period.

Scheifele sent the puck to Vilardi at the side of the net and he used a no-look backhand pass across the front to Connor, who beat Calvin Pickard with a high shot at 15:06.

Vilardi was part of a trade that sent centre Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings, who also gave up forwards Alex Iafollo and Rasmus Kupari. 

Neal Pionk, David Gustafsson, Morgan Barron and Kyle Capobianco each recorded third-period goals. Vladislav Namestnikov picked up a pair of assists.

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Brossoit, who played for the Jets from 2018-21, was signed as a free agent after winning the Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights last season.

Pickard stopped 25 shots.

The Jets iced some of their veterans, while the Oilers suited up a lot of young players.

Edmonton stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were left at home. The pair hasn’t yet played an exhibition game, including Sunday’s match in Edmonton that the Jets won 2-1 in a shootout.

The Jets had two power plays in the opening period, but it was the Oilers who left for the first intermission with an 11-8 advantage in shots on goal.

Some missed opportunities were the theme of the second frame. 

Pickard whipped out his glove to stop forward Gustafsson’s shot midway through the period, and Vilardi went wide on a breakaway with a couple minutes remaining.

Brossoit denied Oilers defenceman Cam Dineen’s low point shot, followed by forward Raphael Lavoie making an unsuccessful wraparound attempt.

Pionk made it 2-0 at 1:27 of the third when his point shot went through some traffic in front of the net and may have bounced off an Edmonton defender.

A pair of Winnipeg penalties then gave the Oilers a 56-second two-man advantage, but eight seconds was knocked off that when Lavoie was called for roughing. Before the infraction, Brossoit thrust his pad out to stop a Dylan Holloway shot.

Gustafsson redirected in a Logan Stanley point shot at 10:09, followed by Barron sending a high shot from the slot over Pickard four minutes later and Capobianco’s high shot going in at 16:21.  

NOTES

True North Sports and Entertainment, which owns Canada Life Centre and the Jets, announced Monday $13 million in renovations this season for the downtown Winnipeg arena. It includes an extension of the main concourse and additional food and beverage offerings … The Jets will play Canadian teams 15 times in the regular season, including seven games at home. The first match is Winnipeg’s season opener in Calgary against the Flames on Oct. 11. A Canadian club doesn’t visit Winnipeg until the Oilers travel for a game on Nov. 30.

UP NEXT

The Jets host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, while the Oilers return home to face the Vancouver Canucks on the same night. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2023.

Judy Owen, The Canadian Press