New Jets show promise despite loss to experienced Oilers

Preseason hockey games are always more about the process than the result, and that’s especially true when the opposing rosters appear to be a major mismatch on paper.

So a 5-2 loss by an inexperienced group of Winnipeg Jets skaters against a star-studded Edmonton Oilers squad on Saturday night in the Alberta capital was neither surprising nor alarming.

There was, however, plenty to like from the visitors’ perspective despite the outcome.

Let’s break it down.

THOMAS MILIC:

The final numbers — 27 shots, 23 saves — don’t necessarily do justice to the performance of the 23-year-old, who was the MVP of the Manitoba Moose last season.

Milic, who is looking to potentially fill the void left by Connor Hellebuyck’s absence, had a solid game.

You can’t fault him for the four pucks that got by him, including goals from Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, along with Oilers newcomers Ryan Shea and Alex Formenton, with the final goal coming into an empty-net.

Top defenceman Evan Bouchard also chipped in four assists as Edmonton clearly tried to give home fans their money’s worth when it came to the lineup.

Before puck drop, Milic said he welcomed the opportunity staring him in the face, including the chance to serve as the last line of defence against a potent opponent.

“All I can say to that is bring it on,” a laughing Milic said of staring down McDavid and Draisaitl.

There’s no doubt Stuart Skinner is now the main masked man in Winnipeg, but his backup or job-share partner remains a mystery.

Milic and his good friend and Moose teammate Domenic DiVincentiis would appear to be competing for that role at this point, although that could change if Hellebuyck is traded and a goaltender is part of the return, or the Jets make a waiver claim.

“It’s hard to ignore something like that that’s going on,” said Milic, who made his NHL debut last year, appearing in three games.

“It definitely crossed my mind and I know there’s an opportunity there. So I’m going to do whatever I can to take advantage of that. At the same time, all I can control is what I’m doing and living in the moment. One day at a time and we’ll see how far that goes.”

Expect Skinner to play two of the final three pre-season games, with DiVincentiis likely drawing the other.

“Obviously there’s two games in there for the young guys to take advantage of. Just like the defence, the forwards: show us what you have,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said before the game.

“We don’t know where we’re going to be in a week or 10 days from now. But there’s a chance. There’s an opportunity. Both those guys played well last year. Both those guys have earned the opportunity to get a game. Go take advantage of it.”

THE TOP LINE OF VIGGO BJORCK, ISAK ROSEN AND BRAD LAMBERT:

You couldn’t help but notice this trio, which had the not-so-glamorous assignment of going up against the McDavid-Draisaitl line for much of the night.

They held their own, that’s for sure.

According to Natural Stat Trick, they were the only Winnipeg forwards to have a positive Corsi percentage, which measures the flow of play along with shots and scoring chances.

Bjorck, with a nifty steal, helped set up Winnipeg’s first goal, which was scored by Parker Ford during a blended shift.

Bjorck nearly scored in the middle frame by batting a puck out of the air created off a rebound from a Rosen shot. Lambert also had several great rushes. The trio combined for seven of Winnipeg’s 21 total shots as well.

Lambert took the spot of Gabe Vilardi, who was left back in Winnipeg along with most of the team’s other regulars. Expect to see Vilardi back with Bjorck and Rosen for his next game, while Lambert is likely to get a look with captain Adam Lowry and Morgan Barron based on how training camp skates have gone.

BRAYDEN YAGER:

The second-year pro, who dazzled (along with Bjorck) at the prospects tournament earlier this month in Gatineau, picked up where he left off. He had a nice assist on the Ford goal while also winning 57 per cent of his faceoffs, which was tops on the team.

Yager also welcomed the challenge of facing McDavid and Draisaitl, who wears the same number as him. The two had a great battle in the third period which nearly resulted in a partial breakaway goal by Yager.

“The (Jets trainer) said I should say (to Leon) ‘How’s it feel to be the second-best No. 29 tonight?” Yager said with a laugh following the morning skate.

Look for his next game to be playing between veterans Nino Niederreiter and Alex Iafallo, suggesting he’s getting a legitimate look at cracking the opening-night lineup.

“I think a lot of young guys kind of knew coming into camp that there’s going to be some opportunities,” said Yager, who played this game with Ford and rookie Kevin He.

ISAAK PHILLIPS:

The Hellebuyck situation and the Bjorck debut might be stealing many of the hockey headlines around here, but there’s an intriguing battle underway on the blue line.

We know Josh Morrissey, Dylan DeMelo, Dylan Samberg, Neal Pionk and Mario Ferraro are all cemented in Winnipeg’s top six, and Elias Salomonsson will likely be there as well once he recovers from his shoulder surgery. But with a season debut possibly on hold until late October, that creates an opening for the third pairing.

Tyrel Bauer has been skating with Ferraro earlier this week and would seem to have the inside track. But Jack St. Ivany — who came over from Pittsburgh in the David Gustafsson trade — is another right-shot option to consider, while Isaak Phillips, Haydn Fleury and Henry Thrun are left shots but could potentially slide over.

All five played on Saturday night in Edmonton. And it was Phillips who really stood out.

The 24-year-old, who played in three games with the Jets last year, had the primary assist on Ford’s goal, then helped set up Winnipeg’s other tally late in the third period. He ultimately wasn’t credited with an assist, since Colby Barlow passed the loose puck to Lucas Wahlin, who fed Jacob Julien for the tap-in, but his efforts didn’t go unnoticed.

Natural Stat Trick had Phillips as Winnipeg’s top Corsi player, with a staggering 80.77 per cent ratio. In a nutshell, the Jets tilted the ice in their favour when he was on it.

“Obviously they had their big dogs in, so that’s always fun going against some of the best in the world,” Phillips told CJOB’s post-game show.

“Everybody was up for that challenge. That’s where you’re striving to be, you want to put yourself against those best players. You want to play in the best league in the world, you’re going to have to play against those guys.”

EXTRA, EXTRA: There were a few others who also stood out — but not for the right reasons.

Nikita Chibrikov had a rough game, especially on the defensive side of the puck, and was a team-worst minus-three.

Not far behind him was Barlow, who had a team-high four giveaways. He did make a nice net-front play late in the game leading to the Julien goal, but the first-rounder needs to be a lot better. He really struggled as a rookie pro last year — scoring just eight goals in 65 games with the Moose — and seems a long way from the NHL at this point.

Overall, the less experienced Winnipeg team had 23 giveaways compared to just 13 by Edmonton. And the Jets were credited with only 11 hits, while the Oilers had 28.

Winnipeg went 0-for-2 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.

Prior to the game, the Jets trimmed the training camp roster by sending three players back to their respective junior clubs: defenceman Noa Ta’amu (Edmonton, WHL), defenceman Alexandre Taillefer (Quebec, QMJHL) and forward Jacob Cloutier (Saginaw, OHL).

The Jets return to preseason action on Monday night when they host what will likely be a very inexperienced Colorado Avalanche team. Winnipeg will entertain Edmonton on Tuesday night before wrapping up the four-game exhibition slate on Friday in Denver.

The Jets will then spend a few days in Colorado Springs doing some team building and bonding before returning home to get set for the start of the 84-game regular season campaign on Oct. 2.

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