McDavid runs point streak to 17, Oilers rally to hand Jets 11th loss in row

WINNIPEG -- Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist in extending his point streak to 17 games, and the Edmonton Oilers rallied to hand the Winnipeg Jets their 11th straight loss, 4-3 at Canada Life Centre on Thursday.

McDavid has 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists) during his streak, which matches his career high. He also had a 17-game streak in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.

“He’s one of those guys who you pay close attention to when you play (him),” Winnipeg forward Tanner Pearson said. “There’s a few guys like that in the League. It’s Connor. … The one [he scored] at the end of the second (period) hurts.”

McDavid cut the deficit to 3-2 at 19:39 of the second when he took Leon Draisaitl’s centering pass from his skate to his stick before quickly deking and lifting a shot over Connor Hellebuyck’s pad.

“Aside from about five minutes at the end of the first period, I thought we played pretty well,” Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. “I liked the fact that we were down 3-1 and we stuck with it. We didn’t generate very much in the second period but we still pushed and were finally able to get a second goal at the end of the second period.”

Evan Bouchard scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period and had an assist, and Zach Hyman and Vasily Podkolzin also scored for the Oilers (22-16-6), who had lost two of three. Calvin Pickard made 13 saves.

“[Pickard] settled -- two goals on a bit of a scramble,” Knoblauch said. “One’s unfortunate, and I think it went off our guy and kind of squeaked through. Those happen. But he stays composed, making some key saves for us -- two in the third period. So, it was nice to see.”

Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist, and Mark Scheifele had two assists for the Jets (15-22-5), who are 0-7-4 during their losing streak. Hellebuyck made 26 saves.

The 11 straight losses represent Winnipeg’s longest losing streak since the franchise moved from Atlanta prior to 2011-12.

“I think we are all getting mental right now in the sense that it’s in everybody’s head,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “But at the end of the day we have a job to do. We have to play, and our best players have to be our best players in a game like that, our role players have to play their roles. I don’t care what the scenario is, when you are out on the ice you are playing a game, something you have done your whole life and we are in a situation like that, however you go about it you have to find a way to get yourself over the hump.

“We are so close, but at the end of the day, we shoot ourselves in the foot within those moments that kind of happen in the game.”

Connor made it 1-0 for the Jets at 11:11 of the first period, scoring with a one-timer from the inside edge of the left face-off circle after Scheifele passed to him from behind the net.

“We just sat on our heels,” Winnipeg defenseman Neal Pionk said. “And at this point, I think it's mental, so we’ve got to overcome that tomorrow (against the Los Angeles Kings). … It's a lot of mental mistakes by all of us. So [we’ll] look to regain our confidence tomorrow.”

Podkolzin tied it 1-1 at 17:02. Kasperi Kapanen drove down the left wing and below the goal line before sending a drop pass to Podkolzin, who scored from the top of the crease.

“We’ve all been in this situation that the Jets are in,” Hyman said. “When you're not winning games, it's hard to close a game out.”

Pearson put Winnipeg ahead 2-1 at 18:16. He gathered the puck off a dump-in, changed direction behind the net and slid a shot under Pickard from a sharp angle beyond the right post.

“It just seems like right now it’s that wall is 100 feet high,” Pearson said. “We’ve got to knock it down with an ax or something. We’ve got to get there. … I think you’re just searching for that one, right? It’s not easy. Everyone is trying to do the same thing in this league. Everyone is trying to win.”

Josh Morrissey then made it 3-1 at 18:56 when his shot from the left circle trickled in with bodies in front.

“They came out hard. They’re a desperate team,” Bouchard said. “We started getting it together later in the game. Big fight for [Trent Frederic] to get us going (late in the second). I think that really rallied us together.”

After McDavid pulled Edmonton within one goal, Hyman tied it 3-3 at 8:19 of the third. He put a wrist shot over Hellebuyck’s glove from the right circle after Darnell Nurse fed him from the blue line following a Winnipeg turnover its own zone.

“He's a big goalie,” Hyman said. “I’ve tried to go cross side on him. On the back end, that’s kind of the usual move I make, but thought that I had some time to go short side and obviously I was able to beat him, which was a big goal for us.”

Bouchard gave the Oilers a 4-3 lead on the power play at 10:37, scoring on the rush with a wrist shot from the high slot after he blocked a backhand attempt by Adam Lowry at the other end.

“Timing is everything,” Bouchard said of Edmonton’s late power play. “It’s the momentum in the game. It’s a big swing in the game when you get a chance like that. Definitely in the third period, near the end of the third period, it’s one that you’ve got to capitalize on. I think that’s when we’re really at our best.”

NOTES: McDavid became the third active player to have 40 points during a point streak of any length, joining Sidney Crosby (50 in 25 games in 2010-11) as well as Patrick Kane (43 in 20 games in 2018-19; 40 in 26 games in 2015-16). … Bouchard assisted on McDavid’s goal to reach the 40-point mark for a fifth consecutive season. The only defenseman in Oilers history with as long a stretch was Paul Coffey (six straight from 1981-82 to 1986-87). … The Jets have lost 24 of their past 30 games (6-19-5) dating to Nov. 4. They were 9-3-0 in their first 12. … Scheifele reached 30 assists in a season for the 11th time in his career, tying Blake Wheeler (11 times) for the most in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history. Scheifele also has had a point in 10 straight games (13 points; four goals, nine assists) against the Oilers dating to March 3, 2023. It is the second double-digit point streak of his career against one franchise (12 games against the Dallas Stars from 2015-16 to 2017-18). … Connor’s assist on Morrissey’s goal was his 30th of the season. He reached the mark for the sixth time, tying Dustin Byfuglien for the third most in franchise history.