Stempniak powers Jets past Oilers 4-1; Winnipeg keeps pace in playoff hunt

EDMONTON - Lee Stempniak scored the winner as the Winnipeg Jets continued their work to solidify a playoff position with a 4-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.

Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers and Michael Frolik also scored for the Jets (38-23-12), who have won five in a row and gained important points in their desire to hold on to at least a wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins responded for the Oilers (20-40-13), who have lost nine of their last 11 games.

Winnipeg got on the board first, six-and-a-half minutes in, as Stafford picked off an Oscar Klefbom pass and blazed into the Oilers zone before beating goalie Ben Scrivens with a wrist shot for his fourth goal and eighth point in his last six games.

Both teams lost players in the opening period as Edmonton defenceman Andrew Ference left with an upper body injury and forward Boyd Gordon went out with a bad back, while the Jets lost winger Blake Wheeler after he took a deflected puck to the face. Wheeler returned for the start of the third.

The Jets made it 2-0 five minutes into the second period as Stempniak was able to smack home a rebound during a scramble in front of the Edmonton net.

Winnipeg took a three-goal lead with four minutes remaining in the middle period as Myers ripped a shot off the post and in during a two-man advantage.

Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec kept the lead intact with a kick save on a late short-handed chance by Benoit Pouliot.

However, Nugent-Hopkins got the Oilers on the scoreboard just over a minute into the third with a wrist shot from the slot that beat Pavelec on the short-side.

Winnipeg got that goal back on the power play with just under eight minutes to play in the third as a big rebound came back to Frolik and he lifted his 17th of the season over Scrivens.

The Jets return to action on Tuesday in Vancouver. Edmonton next plays host to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.

Notes: It was the final of three games this season between the two teams, with the Jets winning both the previous encounters in Winnipeg… Oiler forwards Jordan Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins each came into the game with 14 points apiece in their last seven games… Scrivens made his 15th start in Edmonton's last 16 games