Winnipeg Jets crush Oilers 6-0 for impressive season-opening win – Winnipeg | Globalnews.ca Trending Global News

It’s hard to imagine the Winnipeg Jets getting off to a better start to the season.

Taking on the defending Western Conference champions in their building, the Jets defeated the Edmonton Oilers 6–0 thanks to their depth, special teams and their reigning Vezina Trophy winner in goals.

The Jets scored twice in the first period and three more in the second and never looked back. Winnipeg had six different players score goals and 12 players have at least one point.

“I thought we were really strong as a team out there,” Jets head coach Scott Arnielle said. “We just came out and ran a line and did what they needed to do. The next line came and did the same thing, and a lot of good stuff. And obviously the way we won against that team is a big thing.

“It’s a road win in a tough barn and we’ll take it and move on.”

It was the second time in the last three seasons that the Jets were victorious in their season opener.

Connor Hellebuyck was in good form despite missing the last two days of practice for personal reasons to deal with family matters. He stopped all 30 shots he faced for the 38th shutout of his career and got a little emotional afterward.

“It’s been a pretty crazy week,” Hellebuyck said. “It’s been tough on the whole family, but the boys have played great for me and they’ve been really supportive this whole time, so I really cherish these moments. And I treasure the time spent with family. So, hopefully they’re doing OK.”

Mason Appleton had a three-point night with a goal and two assists. Kyle Connor set an NHL record by scoring in his seventh consecutive season opener.

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“For him to score seven in a row is remarkable,” captain Adam Lowry said. “Honestly, I can’t even fathom it.”

Winnipeg scored twice out of its three opportunities on the power play.

The Jets didn’t beat the Oilers at all in regulation last season.

“Coming to Edmonton, we know what roster they have there,” Lowry said. “They’re a great team and to get our first win of the season, it’s a good feeling straight away and we’ll try to carry that over to Friday night.”

Hayden Fleury had to leave the game temporarily in the second period after taking a high shot, but returned at the start of the third.

Winnipeg had their first chance to score a little over a minute ago when Mark Scheifele found himself on a breakaway but Stuart Skinner tipped him aside.

It remained scoreless until the 14:56 mark when Lowry banked in the rebound from a tough angle off Skinner’s pads to open the scoring.

Lowry’s line doubled the lead with 1:25 left. A great stretch pass from Neal Pionk to Nino Niederreiter gained the puck in the Edmonton end, then Niederreiter found a streaking Appleton who buried a shot under Skinner’s glove to make it 2–0.

Edmonton almost got on the board before the period ended but Zack Hyman hit the post.

Early in the second, the Jets took the game by storm thanks to two goals that came from unexpected sources.

After a long play in the Edmonton end, Josh Morrissey sent a great backdoor pass to Rasmus Kupari who beat Skinner to make it 3–0 at 4:17. It was his first goal as a Winnipeg Jet and first goal in the NHL as a member of the Los Angeles Kings since January 3, 2023. It was also his 10th career goal in his 159th NHL game.

Just 20 seconds later, Dylan Samberg made it 4–0 when he ended a Jets rush by taking a pass from Appleton and burying it top-shelf. Samberg scored only one goal in 78 games last season and has only three goals on night in his 156 game NHL career.

When Winnipeg got its first power play opportunity of the night, they kept piling on. Connor put it past Skinner in just 29 seconds on the man advantage to make it 5-0.

Skinner was pulled for Kelvin Pickard during the second media timeout of the period, ending his night after allowing five goals on 13 shots.

While the offense piled up the stats, Hellebuyck remained sharp on goal, stopping all 25 shots he faced in the first 40 minutes.

Scheifele got in on the fun with less than six minutes left in the game, deflecting a great pass from Nikolaj Ehlers to Pickard on the power play to make it 6-0.

At that point it remained to be determined if Hellebuyck could get the shutout and he was successful by stopping all seven shots he faced in the third.

The Jets will now return home to play their home opener against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night. Puck drop occurs just after 7 p.m. and pregame coverage on Power 97 begins at 5 p.m.

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