The Winnipeg Jets have picked up win No. 1 of the exhibition season.
The Winnipeg Jets have found their first win of the 2024-25 preseason.
On Wednesday evening, a veteran-heavy Jets squad took care of business against the Bakersfield Condors... err, the Edmonton Oilers.
Without much of their star power, the Oilers came out rather sluggish, allowing Winnipeg to set the tone early.
Stuart Skinner got the nod in net for Edmonton, but it was a night he'd rather forget. While Kaapo Kahkonen was given the start opposite Skinner, and performed sensationally.
In vying for the backup role behind Connor Hellebuyck, the offseason addition stopped 26 of the 27 pucks that he faced, picking up Winnipeg's first preseason win in the process.
The Jets were trigger-happy in a dominant opening period, with the home team putting up 12 shots on goal, as compared to Edmonton's seven.
David Gustafsson found the crossbar off a perfect Josh Morrissey setup feed in the early stages, before Nikolaj Ehlers gave Winnipeg a 1-0 lead shortly thereafter.
It was a give-and-go, tic-tac-toe play between the forwards on the Jets' second line that ultimately put the boys in blue ahead.
With prospect Brad Lambert driving hard to the net, Ehlers got Vladislav Namestnikov the puck. The veteran winger dished it right back to Ehlers, who put it past a flailing Stuart Skinner with a full 12:11 left to play in the frame.
“It was good. That line was good," said head coach Scott Arniel. "We wanted to see (Lambert) playing with that speed and with Ehlers’ speed and seeing how he was going to do without the puck... Every time he steps on the ice, it’s a learning curve for him. I really liked a lot of what he did. When he has the puck, he can be dynamic with it. Like I mentioned the other day, there are things he can continue (working on) without the puck that he’s learning every time that he’s out there. This was another step for him.”
The second period was more of the same, as Kyle Connor turned up the tempo on a slick breakaway finish, doubling the Jets' lead with one - or six - flick(s) of the wrist.
Winnipeg came close to another goal or two on a mid-period power play, but Skinner and his shot-blocking defencemen stood their ground.
But the Oilers' penalty kill could only do so much, as another minor did them in, this time by way of another Colin Miller power play marker.
Neal Pionk picked up the puck from Brad Lambert, who then dished it over to Miller. He unloaded a heavy wrist shot on net that beat Skinner cleanly, pushing Winnipeg's lead to three goals.
"The blind squirrel finds the nut once in a while," Pionk joked postgame.
"That's him. He's never going to take credit for anything," Arniel said of Pionk. "He's a team first kind of guy."
The home team was not done there either, as Pionk added to the onslaught with a strong net-drive, as he dipsy-doodled his way through Edmonton, before tucking the puck into the Oilers' net on his backhand.
The Jets outshot Edmonton 15-5 in the frame, pulling ahead 27-13 through 40 minutes of play.
With Skinner's night over, Brad Lambert needed just 1:13 of the third period to beat his replacement, Collin Delia. The youngster did so with a strong power play wrist shot, making it a 5-0 game in the very early stages.
Pionk picked up his fourth point of the night on the Lambert marker.
Captain Adam Lowry added his number to the stat sheet, as he jumped on a Delia mishap, cashing in on a wraparound tally with eight minutes to play - putting a cherry on the top of a sensational offensive output from downtown Winnipeg.
Connor Brown - one of the only NHL-caliber players dressed for the Oilers on Wednesday - spoiled Kahkonen's bid for a shutout with 3:28 left in the game, as he deflected a long-range point shot in the high-slot.
Next up for the Jets is a Friday night affair with the Minnesota Wild a few hours south down Interstate-94. Winnipeg will then close out the preseason with a home-and-home against the Calgary Flames next week.
