Jets Drop Third Straight Preseason Game With Loss to Oilers On Friday

The Winnipeg Jets lose both legs of their home-and-home with the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.

The Winnipeg Jets dropped their third straight preseason contest Friday night, falling 4-0 to the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place. It was a tough outing for the Jets, who were shut out by a mixed Oilers lineup led by several NHL regulars and a few top prospects.

Goaltender Domenic Divincentiis, who had impressed earlier in the preseason, including a 38-save performance in the Jets†prospect showcase win over the Canadiens, struggled in this one. He allowed four goals on 20 shots, finishing the night with 16 saves.

Edmonton opened the scoring midway through the first period when defenseman Darnell Nurse blasted a slapshot past Divincentiis at 9:12 to make it 1-0. The Oilers doubled their lead late in the period, as Josh Samanski fired a snap shot home at 18:37, assisted by David Tomasek.

The Oilers kept pressing in the second, with Noah Philp adding to the lead early in the frame at 2:26 with a snap shot of his own, set up by Troy Stecher and Nurse. In the third, Kasperi Kapanen capped off the scoring at 4-0 with a goal at 2:44, assisted by Andrew Mangiapane and Brett Kulak.

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Winnipeg iced a lineup featuring several forward regulars including Nino Niederreiter, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Alex Iafallo but the trio was held off the scoresheet and each finished with a -2 rating. Rising prospects Danny Zhilkin (-2) and Colby Barlow (-1) also struggled to make an impact.

The Jets†blue line lacked NHL regulars aside from Logan Stanley, who was heavily involved, particularly in the third period, where he racked up multiple roughing minors and a misconduct during a physical stretch against Kapanen.

The game featured plenty of penalties, especially in the final frame. Both sides exchanged roughing calls in a chippy third period, with Kapanen and Stanley each receiving game misconducts after a heated altercation.

For the Oilers, Calvin Pickard earned a 21-save shutout, backstopping a lineup that included NHLers like Mattias Janmark, Adam Henrique, and Mangiapane. Notably, top prospects Matthew Savoie and Isaac Howard dressed but were held without points

The Jets will look to regroup as they continue their preseason schedule versus the Flames on Saturday in hopes of building momentum and refining their roster ahead of opening night.

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