The Winnipeg Jets can secure their first Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history with a single point when they host the injury-plagued Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.
The Jets (55-21-4, 114 points) enter the matchup on short rest after securing a hard-fought 5-4 shootout victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.
Cole Perfetti scored the winning goal on his first-ever shootout attempt, Josh Morrissey tallied twice and Kyle Connor finished with a goal and an assist as the Jets earned their third consecutive victory.
“It’s taken us 80 games to get this division,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said after Winnipeg secured the top spot in both the Central Division and Western Conference. “It’s been a grind and I don’t care how we got it. We got it. It’s like I said before, teams in our division don’t go away, as good as we’ve played it. To get that over and done with, it’s a relief.”
The Jets suffered a possibly crucial loss as Nikolaj Ehlers exited Saturday’s contest early after getting tangled up with the linesman, before being helped off the ice.
“We’ll see when we get home,” Arniel said regarding the health of Ehlers. “We’ll just see where he’s at. It’s just a little bit of the injury he had before.
Edmonton (46-28-5, 97 points) has been revitalized since Connor McDavid’s return to the lineup. After missing eight games with a lower-body injury, McDavid has assisted on seven of the Oilers’ eight goals over their past two victories.
The Oilers followed up a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday with a 4-2 victory over the bottom-feeding San Jose Sharks on Friday night.
Evan Bouchard tallied a goal and an assist, Adam Henrique had a pair of assists and Calvin Pickard made 22 saves as the Oilers officially clinched their place in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“He’s made a huge difference. He’s the best player in the world for a reason,” veteran Corey Perry said of McDavid, who had four assists Friday. “He’s come in and looked like Connor McDavid and we don’t expect anything different. That’s who he is and that’s how he plays each and every night.”
With that effort, McDavid became the fourth player in NHL history to record five consecutive 70-assist seasons.
“He can score or get an assist every shift so it’s fun to watch, it’s great to have him, obviously,” Pickard said. “I think he’s pretty important to us. He’s been great, he leads by example, he leads in the locker room. Best player in the world.”
The injury-riddled Oilers didn’t exit Friday’s loss without a couple more woes.
Both Mattias Ekholm, who had missed the previous seven games, and Zach Hyman left with undisclosed injuries.
This was yet another spot of bother for the already short-handed Oilers, who are without Leon Draisaitl, Jake Walman, Trent Frederic and Evander Kane.
The Jets have won four of the previous six meetings, including each of the past two. The most recent victory came on March 20, when Connor scored in overtime for a 4-3 road triumph.
–Field Level Media
