The Winnipeg Jets have moved to 2-0-0 in preseason play.
It may not have been pretty off the get-go, but the Winnipeg Jets came alive late, besting the visiting Edmonton Oilers for the second time in just over 24 hours.
Kyle Connor had an early power play goal, Gabe Vilardi picked up his first point as a member of a Jets, while Laurent Brossoit earned a shutout in his first game since returning to Winnipeg, as the Jets took the 5-0 home victory from Canada Life Centre on Monday evening.
"It was really cool to have them cheering for me for a change," Vilardi shared post-game. "It’s always been loud whenever I come in this building. Fun playing in it.”
With the win, Winnipeg moved to 2-0-0 in the preseason and will next put its skills to the test against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.
After topping Edmonton 2-1 in a shootout on Sunday, Monday’s Jets squad boasted 20 fresh faces as a new set of players from the club’s 56-man training camp roster suited up in their first exhibition game action of the 2023-24 schedule.
Winnipeg’s lineup was significantly more NHL veteran heavy in the rematch, as neither Connor McDavid nor Leon Draisaitl made the trip to Manitoba. That said, Edmonton did not go down without a fight.
As a matter of fact, it was the Oilers that put up more shots in the opening frame, despite falling behind 1-0 through 20 minutes.
With Jayden Grubbe in the penalty box for high-sticking, the Jets’ top power play unit came out guns blazing. Mark Scheifele found the newcomer Vilardi on the doorstep, who quickly spun and dished the puck to his linemate Connor in the slot.
The American sniper made no mistake hammering home his first of the preseason, giving Winnipeg a 1-0 lead with just under five minutes remaining in the frame.
"We're going to give him a far more important role with us than he was given in L.A., just because of the injuries and the lineup they had," Jets coach Rick Bowness said of Vilardi. "Everything I hear and have watched from looking at his games last year, he's ready to take that next step. He is. And he will take that next step with those two guys. He's playing with two excellent hockey players and I think he realizes the opportunity he has for his career."
The most entertaining bit of from a scoreless middle stanza very well may have been a heavy shot attempt from blueliner Logan Stanley. He broke his stick right in half, as the bottom portion flew 30 feet through the air before landing netside off the big defenceman’s one-timer.
Shortly thereafter, David Gustafsson was denied point-blank in the slot off a Kristian Reichel setup pass on a beautiful glove save from Winnipeg’s own Calvin Pickard. Vilardi also nearly added to the Jets’ lead, but narrowly missed the mark off a long, lead pass from Scheifele with two minutes left in the frame.
Much like that of Pickard’s tryout with the Oilers, the Jets’ netminder Brossoit was also making his first appearance for his ‘new’ team. Having returned to Winnipeg via one-year contract this offseason, the 2023 Stanley Cup winner suited up as a member of the Jets for the first time since the spring of 2021 on Monday.
After falling behind 11-8 through the first period, Winnipeg matched Edmonton’s seven shots in the second, bringing the totals to 18-15 for the visitors through 40 minutes.
The lull of the second period quickly washed away, as the Jets bounced back with a strong and entertaining third period.
Neal Pionk got things going as he gave the Jets a 2-0 lead just 1:17 into the frame.
Vlad Namestnikov set him up with a perfect one-timer drop pass, and the active blueliner made no mistake on his first of the preseason.
Later in the frame, Pionk made a goal-saving stop on a loose puck that trickled its way onto the goal-line behind Brossoit.
Then, with 9:51 to go, Gustafsson and Stanley teamed up for some revenge, as the young forward redirected a long-range Stanley shot through Pickard and bulging the twine.
With 5:49 remaining, Morgan Barron found his first of the preseason, as he picked up Morrissey's centring pass and wired a wrist shot clean into the Oilers' net.
2:10 later, Kyle Capobianco scored a power play dagger on a perfectly placed wrist shot, finishing off the lifeless Oilers.
With the win, the Jets moved to 2-0-0 in the preseason. Brossoit stopped all 26 shots he faced in about as strong of a performance as one would expect a Stanley Cup winner to have.
“Honestly, as soon as I walked in the building a couple of weeks ago, it was pretty crazy," Brossoit said. "It hadn’t felt like I left it. It felt like I was here yesterday, which is great to be that familiar. Even with the guys, a lot of the same guys. That familiarity goes a long way.”
Next up on the exhibition schedule is a Wednesday night battle with fellow Albertan opponent, the Calgary Flames. That game will be the first of two matchups with the Flames during the preseason schedule. Winnipeg will then travel to Ottawa for the first of two road contests, before coming back to Canada Life Centre to close things out. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM central time on Wednesday, while the game will be aired live on TSN.