Jets triumph, but at what cost?

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This article was published 27/12/2017 (2819 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There was no Gretzky or Hawerchuk. No Kurri or Selanne. No Coffey or Housley.

None of that mattered Wednesday as the modern-day stars of the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers traded chances for much of the night in a wide-open game that resembled some of their classic Smythe Division battles of old — where defence and goaltending often took a backseat to high-octane offence.

When the final buzzer went at Bell MTS Place, it was the Jets who outlasted the Oilers by a 4-3 score that certainly could have been much higher on both ends if not for some bad puck luck. Winnipeg improves to 21-11-6 on the year, while Edmonton has their four-game win streak snapped and fall to 17-18-2.

“That’s why I love the game. It’s exciting,” goalie Connor Hellebuyck said of the victory, which included surviving a frantic last-minute barrage by the Oilers in which they did everything but tie the game.

However, the thrill of victory was certainly muted by what appears to be a serious shoulder injury suffered by Jets centre Mark Scheifele. He crashed hard into the boards early in the second period and was in obvious pain, heading straight to the dressing room. He did not return and more will be known about his status today. Scheifele is the Jets second-leading scorer with 38 points in 38 games, and an extended absence would certainly be a big blow to the team.

It was the first game back for both teams after a three-day Christmas break, and the first six minutes gave no indication of the excitement to come. Winnipeg and Edmonton managed just one harmless shot each in what was a sloppy start.

Then a switch seemingly got flipped.

Edmonton kicked things off with a highlight-reel shorthanded goal. Jacob Trouba was unable to corral a bouncing puck, and Connor McDavid raced by him for the clear-cut breakaway. He deked Hellebuyck out, then made an incredible drop pass to teammate Leon Draisaitl who put the puck into an empty net.

“I don’t know what you think when you’re dropping the puck on the PK. Is it luck or is it skill? You’d have to ask (McDavid). I’m sure he’d say it’s skill but I hope I don’t see it again,” Hellebuyck said following the game.

Winnipeg responded just seconds after its power play expired. Bryan Little got a fortuitous bounce off the back boards and buried the rebound. Little was playing in his 710th career game with the franchise, which puts him past Chris Thorburn into the all-time lead.

“It’s definitely an accomplishment, but I’m excited about the future. There’s been a lot of ups and downs in my career with this franchise and I think everyone’s pretty excited about the next few years here,” said Little.

Joel Armia gave the Jets a lead when he converted on a nice Matt Hendricks pass with just over five minutes left in the opening frame. But then came some more McDavid magic, this time on an offensive zone cycle which ended with Jesse Puljujarvi scoring on a rebound.

“We’re both coming off a break, so I expected it to be kind of like that at the start of the game. But then I think the game settled down a bit and got a bit more defensive and the game got faster as the periods went on. But yeah, there was quite a few mistakes in the first period, that’s for sure,” said Little.

Winnipeg’s top line came out flying to start the second, and rookie Kyle Connor scored off a Blake Wheeler pass to make it 3-2 in the opening minute. It was a milestone assist for Wheeler, who passed Ilya Kovalchuk for most all-time in franchise history.

Armia put the Jets up 4-2 when he picked off a pass attempt in his own zone and scored on a breakaway.

“I kind of knew they had a one-timer on top there. Perreault told me to cheat for that so I guess they could give him an apple on that one,” Armia joked about what turned out to be the game-winner.

The two-goal lead was short-lived as Jujhar Khaira ripped a wrist shot past Hellebuyck a few minutes later.

Winnipeg kept the foot on the gas in the third and had numerous chances to extend its lead — with the best coming from Armia, who may have played his finest game in a Jets sweater. He was robbed by Cam Talbot of what looked like a sure hat trick goal midway through the period.

“My feet were moving the whole game. That’s what got me the chances to score goals,” said Armia, who moved up to play on the top line with Wheeler and Connor following Scheifele’s injury.

Edmonton had a few glorious looks in the final minute but couldn’t beat Hellebuyck.

“I think the whole battle was good tonight. The last minute really showed what our team is made of,” said Armia.

The Jets outshot the Oilers 39-25 on the night, including 29-15 following the first period. Winnipeg improves to 13-3-1 on home ice.

Coach Paul Maurice said he liked how his team responded following a bumpy start after the break.

“I thought both teams had the same first. We missed three seam passes in the neutral zone to start and the faceoffs are in our end, plays that aren’t completed. But then I thought it got right back to an NHL game. I liked the way we played after the first, we were pretty darn good,” he said. “We were where we needed to be for the most part. We got into the shot lanes up top, it was mostly bouncing pucks in that slot area that neither team could really get a good handle on them.”

Edmonton has been surging of late after a tough start to their season, working their way back into the playoff picture. They’ll get their chance for payback when they host the Jets on New Year’s Eve.

Prior to that, Winnipeg welcomes the New York Islanders on Friday night.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @mikemcintyrewpg