Winnipeg veterans and roster hopefuls struggled to find momentum in a lackluster home finale, eventually falling in overtime after a controversial Oilers goal soured the opening frame.
On Tuesday, a very different looking Winnipeg Jets team hit the ice just 24 hours after the club opened its home pre-season schedule at Canada Life Centre in a 3-1 win over Colorado on Monday.
Tuesday's tilt marked the second and final exhibition test at home in the shortened pre-season. It came against the Edmonton Oilers travel squad, to which a completely revamped Jets team played host.
Domenic DiVincentiis started in goal, while Adam Lowry, Alex Iafallo, Nino Niederreiter, Neal Pionk and Dylan Samberg served as some of the veteran faces among youngsters battling for roster spots.
Winnipeg ultimately fell to the Oilers by way of a 2-1 final in overtime, with most of the action coming in the first period.
Photo by Rusty BartonIafallo got things going for Winnipeg on his second goalmouth scramble of the frame. He banked home a rebound with 6:56 to go in the opening period, giving the Jets the lead.
“For sure, get the confidence going early," Iafallo said post-game. "But, no, I think we're just trying to focus on getting to the net. And, you know, Bubbs and Yags made a great play. Just getting the puck to the net, I was just driving to the net, honestly.”
The Jets' lead lasted all of two minutes, before Atro Lappanen fired home a squeaker that found its way through a disgruntled DiVincentiis, who was run over by Zach Hyman in the process. Despite the clear contact to the Jets' youthful goaltender, head coach Scott Arniel opted against challenging, as the shoulder to the head occurred well after the puck had snuck through the wickets.
Much like that of the first period, the middle stanza offered power play opportunities for both clubs, but neither the host or visitor could capitalize in what ended up being quite the snoozer of a period.
Edmonton led 16-13 on the shot chart after 40 minutes of play, but neither team really seemed to take over control through two periods. The third period didn't provide much either, with the Oilers holding a 22-18 shot lead through 60 minutes, to which overtime was needed to determine a winner.
Edmonton took just 1:26 of the extra frame to find the winner. After Samberg wired a shot wide of the Oilers' net, Hyman picked up the puck in the offensive zone and fed Viljami Marjala, who wired it into the Jets' net for the game-winner.
DiVincentiis did his part in goal for the most part, shutting down Edmonton to the tune of 21 saves on 23 shots faced.
“Obviously it's the first one for some of us," Iafallo said of his team's effort on Tuesday. "Some of the young guys had a game. But the things that we're focusing on, playing that fast, aggressive game in situations that we've been doing tonight. We can definitely tell it's going to help just keep building day after day.”
Winnipeg will now hit the road to Colorado for the final pre-season test on the schedule on Friday, before enjoying a team retreat in Colorado Springs. The Jets will open the regular season at home on Friday October 2 vs. Boston.
