Oilers vs. Jets score, results: Kyle Connor's 3OT goal finishes Winnipeg sweep of Edmonton

Jackie Spiegel

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Oilers vs. Jets score, results: Kyle Connor's 3OT goal finishes Winnipeg sweep of Edmonton image

It took just under 107 minutes of game action, and the clock hitting just after 2 a.m. on the East Coast, when the Winnipeg Jets closed things out and advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Kyle Connor scored the game-winner in the third overtime to give his team a 4-3 win and a sweep of the Oilers.

"It was kind of end of our shift there and was trailing [the play] a bit so I was just trying to work as hard as I can to get back," Connor said postgame. "[Neal Pionk] made a great play. He was on [Connor] McDavid there, just to get his stick on it and whack it up the boards and I saw it coming and tried to skate as fast as I can. It's our mentality, the whole overtime, [to] just get pucks to the net so [I] just shot that one and, yeah, that one feels pretty good."

Added captain Blake Wheeler: "It's not often you see a breakaway in triple overtime to solve it but, tell you what, we had the right guy on the breakaway. We’re pretty gassed but we’re pumped up in our room."

MORE: The Stanley Cup playoffs and taking one more step closer to normal

The Jets saw two leads earlier in the game get washed away. Mark Scheifele potted two goals for the Jets, the opener on the power play in the first and the game-tying goal in the third. Both came from the left circle. Mason Appleton’s tally off his body (and Darnell Nurse's) was sandwiched between the pair and gave the Jets their second lead of the game. 

On the Oilers side, McDavid got them on the board off a give-and-go with his buddy Leon Draisaitl to tie things up in the first period. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who started the night on the wing for the second line, tied it up again with a snazzy goal that saw him follow his shot up by kicking the rebound to his stick before burying it past Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck. Alex Chiasson scored on the power play to give Edmonton its first lead of the game before Scheifele's equalizer. 

The loss in Game 4 for the Oilers came after they went up 4-1 in Game 3 and eventually lost the game in overtime on a goal by Nikolaj Ehlers. They also lost Game 2 in overtime. 

“It’s just disappointing at this point," said Nugent-Hopkins, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. "We battled all night, I mean, three overtimes. This is the third overtime game in four games. There’s not much to say except, it’s tough to swallow right now.”

When asked if there was a sense of disbelief in how the playoffs went, McDavid responded: “Maybe a little bit, I guess. It’s a weird series, it’s a weird sweep for sure. You don’t usually see them like that, but it is what it is.”

Mike Smith stopped 39 of 43 shots in the loss while Hellebuyck turned aside 37 of 40. Darnell Nurse, by the way, played an eye-popping 62:07 with McDavid, Draisaitl and Tyson Barrie all going over the 40-minute mark for Edmonton. Josh Morrissey led the Jets in ice time at 41:54.

Winnipeg will now have some time to rest before facing the winner of the Maple Leafs-Canadiens series. That series is now 2-1 with Toronto leading. The earliest the series could end, right now, is Game 5 which is scheduled for Thursday. 

Sporting News had all the action as the Jets swept the Oilers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

(All times Eastern)

Oilers vs. Jets score, highlights from 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs Game 4

Third overtime: Jets 4, Oilers 3

2:04 a.m. — GOAL. Wow. Kyle Connor ends it with a snapshot from the right circle. Jets win 4-3.

2:01 a.m. — Oof. Gaetan Haas sends a puck over the glass. Jets get a power play.

2 a.m. — FYI, the shots are 41-38 with the Jets leading. That's in the entire game. 

1:56 a.m. — Here we go.

Second overtime: Oilers 3, Jets 3

1:42 a.m. — Darnell Nurse has played 57:09.

1:40 a.m. — We're heading to triple OT. Cool.

1:38 a.m. — Mike Smith is one of the best goalies when it comes to playing the puck and he's elevated it in this game as he keeps pushing the puck up. Maybe wants this game to end?

1:37 a.m — Two minutes to go in the second overtime... sigh.

1:35 a.m. — Oilers have been controlling play pretty much for the last five minutes. 

1:30 a.m. — The referees have put the whistles away as you can hear the Jets yell at a non-call and then the Oilers wanted one too. 

1:26 a.m. — Mason Appleton comes oh-so-close.

1:15 a.m. — Darnell Nurse sets an Oilers record for most minutes, bypassing Chris Pronger's 47:17 set in 2006.

1:14 a.m. — Oilers get one past Hellebuyck but the net came off the moorings a second before.

1:11 a.m. — Puck has dropped on the second overtime. 

First overtime: Oilers 3, Jets 3

12:56 a.m. — First extra session ends, so let's take a look at the top 5 players in terms of the ice times for the game:

  • Oilers' Darnell Nurse — 43:36
  • Oilers' Tyson Barrie — 35:40
  • Oilers' Connor McDavid — 34:45
  • Oilers' Leon Draisaitl — 33:29
  • Oilers' Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — 30:35

Derek Forbort leads the way for the Jets at 30:18

12:55 a.m. — Oilers control play for the last 90 seconds but can't connect.

12:53 a.m. — Ehlers with a great look but Smith makes a stop off the chest protector.

12:50 a.m. — There is 3:17 left in the overtime session and Darnell Nurse has played 41:12 in this game. Wow.

12:46 a.m. — Draisaitl had a good chance earlier. Blake Wheeler just now had his shot blockered away. Both teams getting looks in overtime.

12:44 a.m. — It may be overtime but McDavid is being double shifted.

12:33 a.m. — With eight seconds left on the Yamamoto penalty, it looks like Darnell Nurse bats the puck out of play but the officiating crew says it was off the glass.

12:30 a.m. — Kailer Yamamoto pulls down Nikolaj Ehlers and the Jets get a key chance to win the game and the series.

12:29 a.m. — A big-time stop by Mike Smith on Mark Scheifele who is looking for the hat-trick. 

12:23 a.m. — Overtime begins and Blake Wheeler is back.

Third period: Oilers 3, Jets 3

12:07 a.m. — Off to overtime.

12:05 a.m. — Blake Wheeler blocks an absolute rocket from Kris Russell and immediately goes to the locker room after the whistle blows.

11:53 p.m. — Game has reached McDavid double-shift time.

11:52 p.m. — Big stop by Mike Smith on a Pierre-Luc Dubois shot off a 2-on-1.

11:43 p.m. — GOAL.  Off an Oilers turnover in their own end, Blake Wheeler with a fantastic move to avoid the defender passes it over to Kyle Connor who feeds Mark Scheifele for the one-timer from the left circle. Game tied 3-3.

11:34 p.m. — Third period is a go with the Oilers on the power play.

Second period: Oilers 3, Jets 2

11:15 p.m. — Period ends and the Oilers will start the third period with 1:17 of power-play time.

11:13 p.m. — Another Jets penalty. Oilers get seven seconds of a 5-on-3 as Josh Morrissey is called for cross-checking.

11:13 p.m — Jesse Puljujarvi just misses.

11:10 p.m. — Oilers go right back on the power play as Logan Stanley slashes the stick out of Kailer Yamamoto's hands. 

11:08 p.m. — PP GOAL.  Oilers absolutely controlling play but not getting much until Alex Chiasson gets the rebound and is able to stuff it in around Hellebuyck.  Oilers lead 3-2

11:07 p.m. — Oilers get a power play as Pierre-Luc Dubois holds up Adam Larsson.

10:53 p.m. — Oilers have some good chances but can't get one past Connor Hellebuyck.

10:49 p.m. — Edmonton gets their first power-play of the game as Neal Pionk heads to the box.

10:47 p.m. — Oilers have turned it up a bit after the goal.

10:44 p.m. — GOAL. Pretty goal by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as he follows up his shot, kicks the puck to his stick and buries the rebound. Game tied 2-2

10:39 p.m. —  The second period has begun and Winnipeg starts the second period with 1:18 of power-play time.

First period: Jets 2, Oilers 1

10:27 p.m. — First period stats, per Natural Stat Trick :

  • Jets led in shot attempts 21-17, and shots 12-5.
  • Jets also led in high-danger chances, 4-2.

10:20 p.m. — Buzzer sounds. Jets will start the second period with 1:18 of power-play time.

10:18 p.m. — Oof. Leon Draisaitl takes a penalty away from the play as he chops the leg of Appleton. Oilers back to the penalty kill less than a minute after killing Haas' penalty.

10:17 p.m. — Winnipeg getting some looks but Oilers able to kill the power play.

10:15 p.m. — Gaetan Haas takes down Scheifele and the Jets, who are 1-for-1 on the power play thus far, get a chance to pad their lead.

10:13 p.m. — GOAL.  Josh Morrissey's shot from the point goes off Mason Appleton and then off Darnell Nurse and past Mike Smith.  Jets lead 2-1

10:11 p.m. — With 4:27 left in the period, Winnipeg leads 7-5 in shots.

10:04 p.m. — Oilers defenseman Ethan Bear having some trouble getting off the ice but he would be ok.

10:01 p.m. — McDavid's first goal of the series.

9:58 p.m. — GOAL. McDavid turns the wheels on pushing the Jets into their end, drops to Draisaitl who gives it back and McDavid wraps it around. Game tied 1-1

9:54 p.m. — PP GOAL. Mark Scheifele with the one-timer off the pass from Blake Wheeler across the "Royal Road." Jets lead 1-0

9:52 p.m. — Jets had a player right in front all alone but the Oilers able to break up the pass.

9:52 p.m. — Adam Larsson called for holding. 

9:51 p.m. — Mark Scheifele with a decent backhand chance.

9:50 p.m. — Not much action so far; Just a lot of up-and-down play.

9:45 p.m. — Game on.

Pregame

9:22 p.m. — Getting ready in The Peg

9:15 p.m. — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins shifted to the wing for rookie Ryan McLeod is, well, a bit of a surprise.

Earlier in the day — The Oilers need to put Sunday behind them, fast.

Stanley Cup playoffs 2021: Latest news

Jackie Spiegel