Jets clinch Presidents’ Trophy despite loss to Oilers

WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Jets clinched the Presidents' Trophy despite a 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Canada Life Centre on Sunday.

“At the end of the day, it's not the trophy we're after,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “It’s a heck of an accomplishment. Guys should be real proud of it, just what we've gone through this year, and to be right in the thick of things all year long as one of the best in the League, it's a heck of an accomplishment.”

Winnipeg (55-22-4) secured the best regular-season record in the NHL for the first time in franchise history when the Washington Capitals (50-21-9) lost 4-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier on Sunday. The Jets will play their final game of the regular season against the Anaheim Ducks in Winnipeg on Wednesday.

“It’s not the trophy we are after, but it’s a nice accomplishment,” Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo said. “It’s been a fantastic year, it really has. We’ve done a lot of good things and been really consistent. Everybody has really bought into what we’re doing here. Like I said, we’ve got our sights set on higher things. At the end of the day, it’s great. It’s great for the organization. It’s great for the city.”

Corey Perry had a goal and an assist, and Connor McDavid had two assists for the Oilers (47-28-5), who have won three straight. Stuart Skinner made 17 saves in his first start after missing the previous eight with a head injury.

“Tonight, everyone played a really solid game, whether it was the first or fourth line, all six defense,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. ‘[Skinner] had a solid game. So, it was nice to see. Some key goals. [Adam] Henrique putting up a lot of points lately, Perry has just been scoring at a great rate through the entire season, so yeah, we needed that. But like I said, I thought it was a good team effort.”

Edmonton (99 points) moved within two points of the Los Angeles Kings (46-24-9, 101 points) for second place in the Pacific Division. The Oilers and Kings will play in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth year in a row and meet in Edmonton on Monday with home-ice advantage still to be determined.

“I think the sense of belief in this group is very high,” Oilers forward Connor Brown said. “A couple more games here before the dance, and so (we’ll) keep our habits up and keep going.”

Alex Iafallo scored for the Jets, who had won three straight. Eric Comrie made 35 saves.

“[The Presidents' Trophy] will mean a lot as it is hard to win in this league and having a season like we did this year,” Winnipeg forward Nino Niederreiter said. “It is a great feeling, but you want to win the Cup at the end of the day.”

Brown gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead 59 seconds into the second period. McDavid stole the puck from Iafallo at Winnipeg's blue line and sent Brown in alone to score with a deke to the backhand.

“I thought we got contributions from everyone in the lineup, goaltending was great,” Brown said. “Obviously, they’re coming off a back-to-back (the Jets won 5-4 in a shootout at the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday) and it’s not their full lineup, so take it with a grain of salt, but (we did) a lot of good things tonight.”

Iafallo tied it 1-1 on the power play at 6:16, chipping in the rebound after Skinner stopped Mark Scheifele’s one-timer from the left face-off dot.

Iafallo has points in four straight (two goals, two assists) and has scored four goals in 10 games since moving to the Jets’ top line in place of the injured Gabriel Vilardi.

“He’s a great player,” Niederreiter said of Iafallo. “We all know what he's capable of. He's a great two-way player. He always goes out there and does his best possible. Doesn't matter what line he is on. And I think he's a terrific player for us.”

Henrique put the Oilers ahead 2-1 at 12:39. With Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg down on the ice in the right circle and unable to get up after blocking a shot, Henrique got position at the right post and batted in a cross-crease pass from Perry.

“Just top to bottom I think everybody contributed, everybody played well tonight,” Henrique said. “We played stingy when we had to, and they had a tough schedule with the back-to-back and the travel. We just tried to keep that high tempo and let our game come to us, and I thought we did a good job at it tonight.”

Perry pushed it to 3-1 at 12:25 off the third, scoring his 18th goal of the season with a snap shot on a rush after Derek Ryan stole the puck from Scheifele in the neutral zone.

“It's been tremendous to have that scoring from typically a fourth line on our team, playing at most 10-13 minutes,” Knoblauch said. “Lately, these last couple weeks because of the injuries, [Perry’s] role has gone up, he's played more minutes, but for somebody in that situation to get (close) to 20 goals and not be on the first unit power play, or very little this year, that's a remarkable year.”

Viktor Arvidsson scored an empty-net goal for the 4-1 final at 18:40.

“I think we want to be the first Canadian team since 1993 to win the Cup,” DeMelo said. “That’s what we’re here for.”

NOTES: The Jets rested several regulars, including defensemen Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk and Luke Schenn, forward Adam Lowry, and Connor Hellebuyck. … Samberg did not return to the game after Henrique’s goal. Arniel said he is OK and described the nature of his status as a “big time” relief. … Oilers defenseman Troy Stecher left the game in the first period. “Hopefully it was just equipment. We'll find out more,” Knoblauch said. … The Jets are the first Canadian team to win the Presidents' Trophy since the Vancouver Canucks did in back-to-back seasons (2010-11 and 2011-12). … McDavid has 99 points (26 goals, 73 assists) in 66 games, needing one more to become the 13th player in NHL history with five consecutive seasons with at least 100 points. Steve Yzerman is the last player to accomplish the feat, with his run of six straight seasons with at least 100 points ending in 1992-93. … McDavid has 28 points (four goals, 24 assists) on a 16-game personal point streak, including nine assists in his past three games.