Winnipeg Jets defeated Edmonton Oilers last night on the road, moving into the wild-card position in the Western Conference. However, a 4-2 win of the guests was overshadowed by the news that the NBA league suspended its activities, until further notice, due to a Coronavirus situation.
Last night, the news broke out that the Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive to the virus before the game against Oklahoma City Thunder. At first, the game was delayed, but after the reaction from the top of the league, the entire season was suspended.
According to Jets’ captain Blake Wheeler, the players heard the news about the suspension and were affected by the same.
“I think after the first period guys caught wind that the NBA suspended their games. So then it kind of had an odd feeling to it.”
The Oilers struck first nine seconds into the second frame when Tyler Ennis beat excellent Connor Hellebuyck after his mistake. It was pretty much the worst moment of the game for the Jets’ goalie.
However, Blake Wheeler tied the result midway through the sequence, after the puck deflected off James Neal. Soon enough, the situation changed, and the guests had the lead, with Patrick Laine hitting the back of the net following Cody Eakin’s assist.
Connor McDavid tied the score once again with 1:37 to go, losing several rivals’ defensemen before beating Hellebuyck.
Then came a shock for the hosts at the start of the third period. With just 29 seconds into that frame, Kyle Connor gave Winnipeg a 3-2 lead, and that turned out to be a decisive moment for the entire match.
After that, the guests weren’t active at all, and all the action took place in front of their own goal. Everything will be apparent to you once we say that Edmonton had 12 shots towards their net, while on the other side, Jets posted just three.
It was Hellebuyck who was the hero of the event, as he ended the night with 36 stops, some of them fantastic.
“He’s been our best player all year and it showed again tonight,” Connor said. “He was outstanding, he never wavered in confidence.”
Connor scored one more goal until the end, and that was in the moments when hosts decided to go for all or nothing. Oilers pulled their goalie Mike Smith away from the ice and tried to reach the equalizer with an extra attacker. With 40 seconds to go, Connor posted his 38th goal of the season, for the final result of 4-2 for the visitors.
“We didn’t capitalize on some chances and made a couple of mistakes that they capitalized on. That was the difference in the game,” said Edmonton’s coach Dave Tippett.
Up next the Oilers (37-25-9) are hosting the New York Islanders this Friday, in the hope of snapping a two-game losing skid. On the other side, the Jets (37-28-6) have four wins in a row, and they are looking pretty good in recent times. The next rivals are the Calgary Flames on the road, only on Saturday.
