WINNIPEG 鈥� Edmonton Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner simply stoned the Jets in their own barn.
Skinner not only stopped 33 of 35 shots, but he shut them out in both overtime and the shootout as the Oilers beat the Jets 3-2 in an NHL pre-season shootout before 14,190 fans at the Canada Life Centre on Saturday night.
鈥淗e wants to continue to have a real good training camp because he knows it鈥檚 an important year for himself and for our team,鈥� said Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft. 鈥淚 think he鈥檚 ready for the opportunity. Obviously, he played a great game tonight and gave us a chance to win. He made numerous big saves and, in the end, we found a way to make one more save than the other team.鈥澛�
The Oilers improved to 3-2 in pre-season.聽
鈥淚 thought I played well,鈥� Skinner said. 鈥淥bviously, it鈥檚 the first (65)-minute game I got to play. Just coming into regular season and feeling good, and making sure your body feels good is important, especially going into a shootout as well.鈥澛�
Oilers forward Devin Shore scored the only goal in the shootout, but he credited Skinner for the victory.聽
鈥淪tuart鈥檚 awesome,鈥� Shore said. 鈥淭he guys in front of him worked our butts off, but he definitely stole us the win here. He was our best player and we鈥檙e going to need that from time to time, especially on the road.鈥澛�
Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves on 25 shots as Winnipeg fell to 2-1-1 in pre-season.聽
Forwards Jason Demers and Tyler Benson netted the other Edmonton goals. Cole Perfetti scored a pair of goals for the Jets.聽
鈥淚鈥檓 happy, I need games,鈥� Perfetti said. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 played since February before the rookie tournament, so I needed games, I need to get up to speed and to make sure everything is good with the (back) injury. The health and all that is the most important thing.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 been great. I鈥檓 getting back to speed. Each game I鈥檝e felt better and better. That鈥檚 kind of my focus, for each game to find something and take that next step forward.
"I鈥檝e liked my game, how it鈥檚 evolved throughout the rookie tournament and throughout the first three pre-season games for me. I like playing in the games. It鈥檚 a little tiring, but at the same time, you want to stay at that speed and you don鈥檛 want too many days off.鈥澛�
Veteran forward Blake Wheeler has been impressed by Perfetti, who played on the same line.聽
鈥淕reat hockey sense,鈥� Wheeler said. 鈥淗e's a real smart player and can make plays and can go to the right spots. He thinks the game at an NHL level. He's going to be a guy that's going to be a lot of fun to watch here for a long time.鈥澛�
The Oilers had forced the overtime when Demers scored to tie the game 2-2 when Edmonton had a two-man advantage midway through the third period.聽
Edmonton will next play host to the Vancouver Canucks on Monday.聽
Winnipeg will welcome the Calgary Flames to town on Wednesday. 聽
NOTES: Eric Hawerchuk, Dale鈥檚 son, hinted that his brother, Ben, could be trying out for the Manitoba Moose, the Jets' farm team during the unveiling of his father鈥檚 statue. 鈥� Throughout Saturday鈥檚 game, the Jets posted video tributes to Dale Hawerchuk from former teammates and friends. There were also a couple of clips from Hawerchuk himself, about how he got the nickname 鈥楧ucky鈥� in junior (from the way he skated and the thrill of scoring his 50th goals, a short-handed one, in front of an excited hometown crowd. 鈥� Some of the former Jets on hand for the statue unveiling included Dave Ellett, Paul MacLean, Serge Savard and Randy Carlyle.聽
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2022.
Jim Bender, The Canadian Press
