*Photo from Sporting News*
Winnipeg leads series 3-0
The Edmonton Oilers had a 4-1 lead as time was dwindling in the 3rd period. They appeared to be heading for their first win of the series, which would have made it a 2-1 series lead for the Winnipeg Jets. Turns out, the Jets had other ideas. Josh Morrissey scored the tying goal, Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice, including the winning goal, and the Jets defeated the Oilers with a 5-4 overtime win Sunday night.
Jets captain Blake Wheeler said "Our power play stepped up huge. That's obviously what got us kick-started. Those guys have been so awesome for us most of the year. They scored two big goals for us tonight, none bigger than Matty Perreault's to get us back in the game. I think the biggest takeaway is you need to win another game. Definitely a thrilling game, definitely an exciting game, but we've got to start focusing on tomorrow pretty quick here. It's just too bad our fans weren't in the building because that would have been something."
Winnipeg got their scoring started in the second period, when Ehlers scored on the power play to make it a 2-1 lead for the Oilers. In the 3rd, after Edmonton had built a 4-1 lead, Perreault scored to make it a 4-2 game, followed by Wheeler to cur the deficit to 4-3. Morrissey then tied it 16 seconds after Wheeler scored to tie the game. In OT, Ehlers scored off a faceoff to give Winnipeg the comeback win.
Ehlers said "You always dream of scoring these kinds of goals. But for me, tonight, it was a matter of getting out there, play simple and use my speed as much as possible. But you know, this was a team effort. A full, I don't know how many minutes we played, but a full 70-plus good effort. Great game and it's exciting."
Connor Hellebuyck made 44 shots on 48 shots to get the win for Winnipeg, helping to keep them in the game until their offense heated up. On the other side, it was another loss for Edmonton's Mike Smith, saving 32 out of 37 shots, as the Oilers are now one loss away from elimination.
Two first period goals by Leon Draisaitl gave Edmonton a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of hockey. In the second period, Zack Kassian scored near the end of the period, and it was a 3-1 lead for the Oilers. Jujhar Khaira scored in the 3rd to make it 4-1 Oilers, and that's when it all fell apart.
Oilers captain Connor McDavid said "We're in a good spot obviously, up 4-1. They go on the power play, and we can't get a kill and kind of gave them a lifeline there, and they took advantage, obviously. We're not going to roll over and play dead on these guys. We've got to find a way to get a win tomorrow night and we'll take it from there."
Game 4 is tonight in Winnipeg, with Smith and Hellebuyck starting.
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