Connor’s OT winner lifts Jets past Oilers, who lost McDavid late

Advertisement

Advertise with us

EDMONTON - Kyle Connor scored the overtime winner as the Winnipeg Jets came away with a narrow 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Monthly Digital Subscription

$0 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

Monthly Digital Subscription

$4.75/week*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

No thanks

*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/03/2025 (232 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON – Kyle Connor scored the overtime winner as the Winnipeg Jets came away with a narrow 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

Cole Perfetti, Josh Morrissey and Brandon Tanev also scored for the Jets (48-18-4), who have won four of their last five.

Jeff Skinner had a pair of goals and Zach Hyman also replied for the Oilers (40-24-5), who saw their three-game winning streak halted. 

Winnipeg Jets' Vladislav Namestnikov (7) watches the puck go in the net on a shot from the point as Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) tries to make the save and Jake Walman (96) defends during first period NHL action in Edmonton on Thursday, March 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Winnipeg Jets' Vladislav Namestnikov (7) watches the puck go in the net on a shot from the point as Edmonton Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner (74) tries to make the save and Jake Walman (96) defends during first period NHL action in Edmonton on Thursday, March 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

The Oilers were without the NHL’s leading goal-scorer Leon Draisaitl, who is out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Connor McDavid was also absent for the third period, leaving the game with an upper-body injury after being slashed by Morrissey.

Connor Hellebuyck made 20 stops to collect the win in net for the Jets, while Stuart Skinner recorded 13 saves for the Oilers before being involved in a late-game net front collision and removed due to concussion protocols.

Calvin Pickard entering in relief to make three saves.

Takeaways

Jets: Hellebuyck seems like a lock to win a second straight Vezina Trophy and the third of his career. The Michigan native came into the contest with a league-leading .924 save percentage and 2.05 goals-against average. The win gave him a 40-10-3 record on the season, five wins shy of setting a new career high.

Oilers: Skinner was elevated up to the top line with McDavid for the second game in a row and made the most of it with his two goals, his first points since Feb. 23.

Key moment

After Hyman tied the game 3-3 with 5:34 to play in the third, Winnipeg was able to get the extra point in overtime following a big save by Hellebuyck on Hyman. The Jets did a solid job cycling in the Edmonton zone before dropping it back to Connor who wired home his 37th goal of the season on Pickard.

Key stat

Winnipeg’s numbers this season have been very impressive. The Jets are third in goals scored and hold the league’s top power play. They came entered Thursday having allowed a league-low 162 goals in 69 games this season (2.34 per game) and possessed a stellar plus-77 goal differential — 26 goals better than the next Western Conference team, the Dallas Stars, at plus-51.

Winnipeg Jets' Mark Scheifele (55) and Kyle Connor (81) celebrate a goal as Edmonton Oilers' Darnell Nurse (25) looks on during overtime NHL action in Edmonton on Thursday, March 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Winnipeg Jets' Mark Scheifele (55) and Kyle Connor (81) celebrate a goal as Edmonton Oilers' Darnell Nurse (25) looks on during overtime NHL action in Edmonton on Thursday, March 20, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

PM in the AM

New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney participated in the morning skate with the Oilers. An Edmonton native and self-avowed Oilers fan, who went on to play as a goalie for Harvard in college, Carney returned to take in the game at night.

Up next

Jets: Return home to face the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.

Oilers: Play host to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2025.

Report Error Submit a Tip

NHL

LOAD MORE