Somewhere deep in the bowels of Rogers Place, someone could be heard whistling to the tune of “La Bamba,” after the Oilers won their first game of the season.
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Without many NHL veterans in the lineup, the Oilers relied on their youngsters to secure a 3-2 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets.
Winnipeg got things started early, as David Gustafsson beat out Ty Emberson in front to tip home a Logan Stanley point shot seventeen seconds in. Edmonton responded quickly, however, as 2024 draft pick Sam O’Reilly took a breakout pass from Cam Dineen and split the Jets’ defenders to bury the Oilers’ first goal.
“Obviously, getting that first one pretty early in the game, it feels good,” O’Reilly told reporters after the game.
The Oilers took the lead in the second period with a powerplay one-timer from Raphael Lavoie, but it was short-lived as Dominic Toninato evened the game for the Jets just ten seconds later.
An excellent performance from Jets goalie Eric Comrie kept the game close, while Olivier Rodrigue and Collin Delia split the Oilers’ crease, allowing one goal each. Oilers fans might remember Comrie from his career-best 46-save performance against Edmonton in October 2022, when he was with the Buffalo Sabres.
Defenceman Cam Dineen, who spent last season in Bakersfield, continued his excellent performance by scoring the overtime winner on the rush. Dineen and partner Connor Carrick both looked very comfortable with the puck all night, making plenty of breakout passes and joining forwards on the rush.
While neither Dineen nor Carrick are expected to make the NHL roster for opening night, they showed that they can provide some valuable offence from the back end in a depth role.
O’Reilly, for his part, looked comfortable on both sides of the puck, breaking up plays on defence and winning puck battles.
With only a few NHL veterans on either side, this game was a golden opportunity for prospects and depth pieces to try and win spots. The Oilers’ top line of Matt Savoie, James Hamblin, and Vasily Podkolzin dominated most of their minutes, with Savoie getting off a few good scoring chances and Podkolzin laying a big hit in overtime that eventually led to the game-winning goal.
The Oilers are back on the ice tomorrow, with split-squad games against the Calgary Flames. The puck drops on both of those games at 7:00 PM.
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