Oilers score 4 in 1st, cruise to win against Jets

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers scored four goals in the first period on the way to a 6-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Rogers Place on Saturday.

Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard each had a goal and an assist, and Connor McDavid had two assists for the Oilers (13-11-5), who have won three of four.

“I think the first 40 (minutes) was probably the best we’ve played all year,” Draisaitl said. “Sometimes when you go up like that, the third period can be challenging, but all in all it was a deserving win.

“We look a lot more connected, we look a lot faster. Obviously, we’re looking to take steps and continue to get better. Sometimes you lose confidence in your own ability and the ability of the group a little, and sometimes you’re in a little lull before you get out of it. Hopefully we can string a couple together now.”

Stuart Skinner made 19 saves for Edmonton and has allowed three goals on 71 shots in his past three starts (.958 save percentage).

"It comes down to defending so much better,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We were giving up so many grade-A opportunities. When you're not doing that, it's so much easier for the goaltender.

“The goalies know what kind of shots are coming and they can make the big save.”

Gabriel Vilardi and Cole Koepke scored for the Jets (14-13-1), who have lost three of four (1-2-1). Eric Comrie allowed four goals on 16 shots before being pulled after the first period, and Thomas Milic made nine saves in relief.

“It obviously wasn’t what we wanted,” Winnipeg center Mark Scheifele said. “They’re a good team. With us playing last night, they got on us early. That’s usually what you try to do when a team is coming off of back-to-backs, especially with travel.

“So, we’ve got to be better. We hung ‘Coms’ out to dry in that first period and it’s tough to rebound from being down 4-rip.”

The Jets were coming off a 4-1 victory against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday.

“The whole League’s going through this right now because of the Olympics,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “Everybody’s having their tough grind of the schedule. For me, we had talked about the first 10 minutes, how we had to be smart about how we did things. They get three goals in the first 7 1/2 minutes to start.

“Both mentally and physically, we weren’t ready to go. At the end of the day, I’ll take responsibility for that.”

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins put the Oilers ahead 1-0 at 3:00 of the first period when he scored from the low slot on the rebound of McDavid’s shot.

Draisaitl made it 2-0 on a breakaway at 4:37, taking a stretch pass from Bouchard and finishing with a backhand.

Matt Savoie pushed it to 3-0 at 7:24, putting a rebound into an open net after a high shot by Mattias Ekholm bounced off Comrie’s left shoulder.

Bouchard then extended the margin to 4-0 on the power play at 13:31. He scored into an open net with a one-timer from the point off a Draisaitl feed with Comrie having lost his footing.

Edmonton outshot Winnipeg 16-5 in the first.

“Obviously, it was a tough first period. I think it was a tough back-to-back for us,” Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey said. “They came out hot and we weren’t ready to match that.”

Curtis Lazar made it 5-0 at 2:42 of the second period. He beat Milic with a wrist shot from above the left hash marks off Mattias Janmark’s pass up the slot.

Scheifele had a goal overturned at 13:09 after the Oilers challenged for offside, but Vilardi brought Winnipeg within 5-1 at 4:12 of the third period when he scored at the right post off a backdoor pass from Scheifele.

David Tomasek then increased the lead to 6-1 at 13:29, scoring from the low slot to the stick side off a pass out of the left corner by Trent Frederic.

Koepke scored on a wraparound at the right post at 15:25 for the 6-2 final.

The Oilers have scored 15 goals in their past two games, including a 9-4 win against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, after losing 1-0 to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

“Obviously, it’s what you want to see, how you want to respond. It just comes down to sticking to it and not getting frustrated,” Nugent-Hopkins said. “We had some good looks in that [Minnesota] game that didn’t go in, and then we kind of exploded the other night and followed up on it. A lot of things to like tonight.”

NOTES: Jets forward Kyle Connor's goal streak ended at four games (four goals), but he had an assist to extend his point streak to five games (seven points; four goals, three assists). ... Scheifele’s assist ran his point streak to seven games (eight points; three goals, five assists). … Winnipeg had a 36-9 edge in hits. … The Oilers scored six or more goals for the fifth time this season, which trails only the Colorado Avalanche (six) for the most in the NHL.