It’s hard to imagine the season starting any better for the Winnipeg Jets.
Taking on the defending Western Conference champions in their building, the Jets steamrolled the Edmonton Oilers 6-0 thanks to their depth, special teams, and their reigning Vezina Trophy winner in goal.
The Jets scored twice in the first period and tacked on three more in the second and never looked back. Winnipeg had goals from six different players and 12 players had at least a point.
“I just thought we were real solid as a team there,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “We just came out and one line went out and did what they needed to do. The next line came out and did the same thing, and lots of good stuff. And obviously to win it the way we did is big against that team.
“It’s a road win in a tough barn and we’ll take that and move on.”
It was the second time in the last three seasons the Jets were victorious in their season opener.
Connor Hellebuyck was in fine form despite missing the last two days of practice for personal reasons to deal with family stuff. He stopped all 30 shots he faced for his 38th career shutout and got a little emotional afterwards.
“It’s been a pretty crazy week,” Hellebuyck said. “It’s been tough on the whole family, but the boys played great for me and they’ve been really supportive this entire time, so I really cherish these moments. And I cherish my time with family. So, hope they’re doing alright.”
Mason Appleton had a three-point night with one goal and two assists. Kyle Connor set an NHL record by scoring in his seventh straight season opener.
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“It’s remarkable for him to have seven straight,” said captain Adam Lowry. “I can’t even fathom that, to be honest.”
Winnipeg scored twice on their three chances on the power play.
The Jets didn’t beat the Oilers in regulation at all last season.
“To come into Edmonton, we know the roster they have there,” Lowry said. “They’re a great team and to get the first win of the season, right away it’s a good feeling and we’re gonna look to build on that for Friday night.”
Haydn Fleury had to leave the game temporarily in the second period after taking a shot up high, but returned for the start of the third.
Winnipeg got the first chance to score just over a minute in when Mark Scheifele found himself on a breakaway but he was turned aside by Stuart Skinner.
It stayed goalless until the 14:56 mark of the first when Lowry banked in a rebound from a tough angle off the pad of Skinner to open the scoring.
Lowry’s line doubled the lead with 1:25 to go. A great stretch pass from Neal Pionk to Nino Niederreiter got the puck into the Edmonton end, then Niederreiter found a streaking Appleton who buried a shot under Skinner’s glove to make it 2-0.
Edmonton nearly got on the board before the period expired but Zach Hyman hit the post.
Early in the second, the Jets blew the game wide open thanks to a pair of goals from unlikely sources.
After a long shift in the Edmonton end, Josh Morrissey sent a great backdoor pass to Rasmus Kupari who banged it past Skinner to make it 3-0 at the 4:17 mark. It was his first goal as a Winnipeg Jet and first in the NHL since Jan. 3, 2023 as a member of the Los Angeles Kings. It was also just his 10th career goal in his 159th NHL game.
Just 20 seconds later, Dylan Samberg made it 4-0 when he finished off a Jets rush in transition by taking a pass from Appleton and burying it top-shelf. Samberg scored just one goal in 78 games last season and only three in his 156 game NHL career coming into the night.
Winnipeg kept piling on when they got their first power play chance of the night. Connor wired a wrister past Skinner just 29 seconds into the man advantage to make it 5-0.
Skinner was pulled for Calvin Pickard during the second media timeout of the period, his night ending after allowing five goals on 13 shots.
While the offence piled up stats, Hellebuyck stayed sharp in goal, stopping all 25 shots he faced through the first 40 minutes.
Scheifele got in on the fun with just under six minutes remaining in the game, deflecting a crisp pass from Nikolaj Ehlers past Pickard on the power play to make it 6-0.
The only thing left to determine at that point was whether Hellebuyck could get the shutout and he succeeded, stopping all seven shots he faced in the third.
The Jets will now return home to play their home opener Friday night against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks. Puck drop is just after 7 p.m. with pregame coverage starting at 5 p.m. on Power 97.
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