Stastny Nets OT Winner in 1-0 Winnipeg Win

The Edmonton Oilers drop a 1-0 OT decision to the Winnipeg Jets in Game 2 of their series. Paul Stastny was the overtime hero for the Jets as they take a commanding 2-0 series lead. Mike Smith was spectacular in the Edmonton net but Hellebuyck was better.

It was a nail-biter right to the very end. I have the complete breakdown of this one...

First Period:

If you were looking for a faster, more exciting game two then you were happy with the opening period of Game Two. Both teams were amped up and it was Edmonton’s top-line that looked good early on. Even the second line was looking to establish some pressure.

That wouldn’t last for long though as a slashing penalty by Ethan Bear shifted the momentum. The Jets were relentless with the advantage but Mike Smith was in god mode and was turning away every challenge sent his way. Edmonton would continue their penalty-kill streak.

The highlight of the period was far-and-away Smith between the pipes. He was astounding in the opening frame and the reason why Edmonton didn’t find themselves down early. His best save came on a couple of unbelievable consecutive stops on Kyle Connor.

The Jets were the better team in this period as they dominated the shot-clock 17-11. Edmonton would find a few nice shifts later on but it would be a scoreless opening frame.

Second Period:

The run-and-gun hockey continued on as the Oilers looked to get some chances of their own. They looked better than they did in the first but it was still Winnipeg who had the bulk of grade-A chances. Mike Smith continued to play out of his mind to keep his team in it.

Leon Draisaitl nearly ended the scoring deadlock with a nice spin aound pass to Nurse but it couldn’t beat Connor Hellebuyck’s pad. Some scrums near the end of the period resulted in some 4-on-4 hockey but, alas, it still wasn’t enough for either team.

We ended the second the way we ended the first. Scoreless.

Third Period:

The Oilers had every opportunity to score in the first half of this period. They had two chances on the PP including a 21-second stint with a two-man advantage. McDavid was able to feed Draisaitl for the one-timer a few times but it couldn’t beat Hellebuyck. A few amazing chances but nothing goes.

At the other end, it was more of the same. The Jets threw the kitchen sink at Smith but he stood tall for the Oilers. It went down to the wire but neither team could find the twine. This one was destined for OT and that is exactly what we got.

The final score would be 1-0 but the winner was still to be determined.

OT:

Didn’t was anytime for the first good chance of the OT period. The top-line create chaos in front of the net but, again, can’t get it past Hellebuyck. McLeod and Chiasson would connect on another chance that was unable to get on net.

Paul Stastny would eventually find the back of the net after a drive-by screen fools Smith. The Oilers dropped the first two games of this series.

1-0 WPG FINAL.

Takeaways:

• Zack Kassian and James Neal do not belong in this lineup. Time for Tyler Ennis and Haas/Nygard to draw into the series for Game 3.
• Officials were brutal tonight. Far from Edmonton’s biggest problem but it doesn’t help that the Jets are allowed to haul down McDavid whenever they want.
• Mike Smith. That’s it. An incredible game by #41 and he was by far our best player tonight. Not a great goal to let up in overtime but he gave this team a chance to win and they gave him no support.
• Jesse Puljujarvi not being on the team’s top PP unit is beyond puzzling. Alex Chiasson does nothing but kills the momentum on that unit. I have no plausible explanation as to why #13 isn’t there.
• I think it is time to acknowledge that the best course of action is having McDavid and Draisaitl on separate lines. They dominated the Jets with that strategy in Game 1 so I have no reason as to why you would completely reshuffle your top six. The bottom six is the area of concern.
• Hard to cut it in a positive light. They were outplayed all night long and failed to get a single goal. Hellebuyck stole the first game but the Jets just outplayed Edmonton in this one. They blow their home-ice advantage and enter a must-win situation in Winnipeg on Sunday.