Jets top Oilers for fourth straight win, push forward in wild-card race

EDMONTON -- The Winnipeg Jets moved two points ahead for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference with a 4-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Wednesday.

Kyle Connor scored his first of two goals on a breakaway to break a tie 29 seconds into the third period, and Connor Hellebuyck made 36 saves for Winnipeg (37-28-6), which pulled ahead of the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks. Blake Wheeler had a goal and assist.
"It was a weird game. We had some pretty awesome efforts at our goal line to keep pucks out," Wheeler said. "Our goalie was really good again, and I think we just kind of stayed with it and allowed the game to evolve and we were able to get some opportunities that we were able to capitalize on."
WATCH: [All Jets vs. Oilers highlights]
Connor McDavid returned from an illness and scored for Edmonton (37-25-9), which remained three points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the Pacific Division lead. Mike Smith made 21 saves.
"That's karma. We've had a couple of games where we've gotten points where we probably didn't deserve points," McDavid said. "Tonight, I thought our game was pretty good, but we don't get any points. That's the way it goes."

Tyler Ennis scored nine seconds into the second period to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead after Hellebuyck misplayed the puck behind the net. Wheeler tied it 1-1 at 9:25 when his past deflected off Edmonton forward James Neal's stick.
"I really liked our start; it was perfect in a lot of ways," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "I didn't think we were great when the other team scored; I thought the momentum shifts were bigger. I think at the end of the day, what's fair to say is that we had far better offense in our last game in here (a 3-2 loss on Feb. 29) and they had far better offense in this game, and the goaltenders were the difference in the game."
Patrik Laine gave the Jets a 2-1 lead at 16:28 of the second period off a centering pass from Cody Eakin.

McDavid tied it 2-2 at 18:23 after he took a pass from Zack Kassian, worked his way around Jets defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and tucked the puck past Hellebuyck.
Connor gave Winnipeg a 3-2 lead when Wheeler sent him in alone with a pass from the Oilers blue line, and he put a shot between Smith's skates for his 37th goal of the season. Connor scored an empty-net goal with 40 seconds remaining for the 4-2 final.
Edmonton outshot Winnipeg 12-3 in the third period.
"We had more chances, we played better as a team tonight than we did the last few games," Oilers coach Dave Tippett said. "We didn't capitalize on some chances and made a couple of mistakes that they capitalized on. That was the difference in the game."

They said it

"He has been our best player all year and it showed again tonight. He was outstanding; he never wavered in confidence. He had that one turnover, but he was fighting back and came back strong and you could tell he wasn't bothered by that." -- Jets forward Kyle Connor on goalie Connor Hellebuyck
"It was frustrating on my end; I thought I could have had a few. We had our chances, but Hellebuyck played outstanding. He made a lot of crazy saves, and that was probably the difference." -- Oilers forward Tyler Ennis

Need to know

It's the first time this season the Jets have won four in a row. … Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had his six-game point streak end. … Forward Leon Draisaitl needs two goals to become the first Oilers player in 33 years to post back-to-back seasons with at least 45 goals; Wayne Gretzky (52, 62) and Jari Kurri (68, 54) accomplished the feat in 1985-86 and 1986-87.

What's next

Jets: At the Calgary Flames on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SN, SN360, SN1, CITY, NHL.TV)
Oilers: Host the New York Islanders on Friday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, MSG+, NHL.TV)