*Photo from SaltWire*
Edmonton Oilers captain and superstar Connor McDavid did not score any goals Wednesday night. That didn't prevent him from producing. McDavid tallied 3 assists, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored, and the Oilers topped the Winnipeg Jets with a 3-1 win Wednesday night. Tyson Barrie and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers.
Barrie got the Oilers on the board 10:52 into the first period with his 7th goal of the season to make it 1-0 Edmonton. In the second, Blake Wheeler scored for the Jets to tie it at one, but around two minutes later, Nugent-Hopkins scored for the Oilers to make it 2-1 after two periods. In the 3rd, Draisaitl scored on an empty net to make it 3-1 Oilers.
Nugent-Hopkins talked about the 3 assists by McDavid, saying that "It's pretty amazing. We know how special a player he is, but to be able to do it every night is another story. He does it in practice every day too, so we do get a taste of it. But obviously he's having a special season and he's a pretty spectacular player."
Mikko Koskinen got the start in goal for the Oilers, getting the win while stopping 29 of 30 shots in a solid outing. Koskinen got his record up to .500, with an 11-11-0 record, while the Oilers continued their hold on second place in the North Division, with a 29-16-2 record this season.
Nugent-Hopkins said of Edmonton's play against the Jets that "I don't know exactly what it is, we definitely raise our level when we play these guys. I think overall we try to limit their high-quality scoring chances from in tight and try to keep it to the outside as much as possible, and we found a way to capitalize on our chances against them."
Connor Hellebuyck got the start in goal for the Jets, taking the loss, stopping 24 of 26 shots he faced. Hellebuyck saw his record drop to 21-15-3 this season, still a solid showing this season, while the Jets remain in 3rd place in the North Division, with a 27-19-3 record.
Hellebuyck said of the team's performance that "I thought we were hard tonight. We were doing all those details hard. It was a step in the right direction, but we can't settle for losing. We're going to snap out of this and it's going to be big, and we're going to carry that momentum. It's just a matter of time."
The Oilers resume play tonight against the Calgary Flames, with Mike Smith expected to start in net for Edmonton. The Jets face the Montreal Canadiens Friday night, with Hellebuyck starting for the Jets.
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