Oilers use power play to defeat Jets

WINNIPEG -- The slumping Edmonton Oilers power play scored three goals in a 6-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre on Thursday.
Mark Letestu scored twice on the man-advantage and had an assist and Leon Draisaitl also had two goals (one on the power play) and an assist for the Oilers (13-10-2), who ended a three-game losing streak (0-2-1). The Edmonton power play entered the game having scored twice in its previous 37 opportunities.
"The power play was a big part of it," Letestu said. "They gave us an opportunity there, and we capitalized there. It was something that we hadn't been doing in the games that we have been losing."

WATCH: All Oilers vs. Jets highlights
Connor McDavid had three assists for Edmonton and leads the NHL with 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists). He has a seven-game point streak (six goals, nine assists). Draisaitl, who moved to the first line with McDavid and Milan Lucic, has 12 points (six goals, seven assists) in his past nine games.
"[Draisaitl is] one of my favorite guys to play with for sure," McDavid said. "He's so patient with the puck. He's always finding you in different ways and putting the puck on your stick in a good situation. Leon thinks the game so well."

Cam Talbot made his seventh consecutive start for the Oilers and had 22 saves.
"Work ethic went up, execution went up, power play performed," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "I thought we had a little more pace to our game, a little more resilient than we had in the past. Once they pushed, we pushed back."
Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck allowed six goals on 29 shots and was replaced by Michael Hutchinson, who made four saves in relief, in the third period.
Jets rookie Patrik Laine had two goals, moving him into second in the NHL with 15 behind Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins (16). Bryan Little scored for the Jets (11-13-2), who ended a five-game home winning streak.
"We did not check hard," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "We weren't physical by any means."

The Jets scored 35 seconds into the game on Little's first of the season. However, Letestu followed 1:56 later with his third goal, ending a run of 15 games without a goal.
Winnipeg had gone 1 for 21 on the power play when Laine's left-point slap shot slipped past Talbot at 10:14 for a 2-1 lead.
Draisaitl's eighth goal 51 seconds into the second period made it 2-2. Letestu followed at 5:06 and Pat Maroon put the Oilers ahead 4-2 at 11:43.
Laine's second goal came at 1:44 of the third period before Draisaitl's ninth goal made it 5-3 at 7:13. Benoit Pouliot's fourth goal 20 seconds later made it 6-3.
"They're a good team in this building when it gets rocking," Letestu said. "They can really push. For the guys to stick with it, that fifth goal by Leon I think was huge."

Goal of the game

Letestu crashed the net on Edmonton's third goal, taking a pass to the slot and putting a shot high past Hellebuyck.

Save of the game

McDavid fended off four Winnipeg players and put a shot on net, but Hellebuyck stopped the puck with a left-pad save late in the first period.

Highlight of the game

Laine had plenty of open ice on a 5-on-3 power play that he used to put a rising slap shot past Talbot on his second goal.

Unsung moment of the game

Letestu halted Winnipeg's momentum and energized the Edmonton bench with his first-period power-play goal.

They said it

"The main part was the work ethic. We got it back to where it needed to be. It's not about us as coaches. The reward is seeing the classroom perform at the level they're capable of. You like that when you're the teacher or the professor, if you will. But the players should be praised for their effort and their input. Again, it's not pretty. It's never perfect in this League, but I think they should be satisfied getting on the plane, getting some rest, and getting ready for a big weekend." -- Oilers coach Todd McLellan on changing lines
"We got it to [within] a goal there in the third, and then they bounced back and got two more. It's kind of deflating." -- Jets captain Blake Wheeler on the third period

Need to know

Three of Letestu's four goals have been against Winnipeg. … Lucic had two assists and has a six-game point streak (two goals, eight assists). … Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera had two assists. … Little's goal was his first since Feb. 11; he had missed 48 games because of injuries dating back to last season before returning Tuesday. … Jets forward Mathieu Perreault (upper body) returned after missing 14 games. … Defenseman Toby Enstrom returned for Winnipeg after missing three games because of personal reasons.

What's next

Oilers: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; PRIME, CBC, SN, NHL.TV)
Jets: At the St. Louis Blues on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN, FS-W, NHL.TV)