PREVIEW: Oilers at Jets

The Edmonton Oilers close out a three-game road trip on Tuesday night against the Winnipeg Jets looking to put an end to a two-game losing skid.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet West at 6:00 p.m. MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.

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PREVIEW: Oilers at Jets

WINNIPEG, MB – Despite Sunday's defeat in the nation's capital, nothing could’ve taken away from Zach Hyman’s milestone night.

The Oilers winger was planted next to the left post of Ottawa’s net during a second-period power play and redirected home his 50th goal of the season off a pass put onto his tape by Connor McDavid, becoming just the seventh player in Oilers franchise history to reach the half-century in a single season.

Leon Draisaitl knew it was coming even before the puck was put into the back of the net by Hyman, as seen on Oilers TV’s mic’d up footage of the incredible moment, as the German was the first to let out a loud “Hyman!” before wrapping his arms around his teammate.

Draisaitl was one of three 50-goal scorers on the ice for the Oilers who basked in the moment before Hyman was congratulated by another in Corey Perry, who said “Welcome to the club” as one of the endless acknowledgements he received from coaches, teammates and trainers upon his return to the bench.

“A cool story from a guy who was supposed to just be a checker in this league and not sure if he would ever make it,” McDavid said post-game on Sunday. “He's worked for everything he's gotten and now he's a 50-goal scorer at the age of 31. It's pretty impressive. It's been cool to kind of witness his transition from that to a goalscorer, and everyone's really happy for him.”

Hyman became the third-oldest player in NHL history (31 years and 289 days) to reach the 50-goal plateau for the first time in their career and has now scored 113 goals in his first 223 games as an Oiler – the fourth-highest goal production over that span behind Wayne Gretzky (185), Glenn Anderson (126) and Craig Simpson (115).

Hyman’s next goal will be the 200th of his career, which will make him the 11th player from the 2010 NHL Draft class to reach 200 goals and just the fourth from outside Round 1 after he was a fifth-round pick of the Florida Panthers

After the game, Hyman spoke about his journey and his growth as a player to become a 50-goal scorer, thanking his captain, his teammates and most importantly – his family who helped make the moment possible.

“I mean, it's pretty cool. A special moment obviously for me and my family,” he said. “I think I said it before, but when you become an NHL player, so many people have sacrificed; those who've driven you to rinks, my parents and my uncles, everybody chips in to help you… My wife watching the kids by herself half the time, I think it means just as much or more to them just to see you have success.

“And obviously, this is a milestone that I don't think anybody thought I would ever get to when I started my career, I got to it, which is pretty crazy honestly, and I had a lot of help playing with a couple of special players, especially Connor, and I wouldn't be in this position without him.”

Edmonton’s 5-3 defeat to the Senators was their second loss in a row as they now shift their focus to a tough challenge against the Jets on Tuesday at Canada Life Centre, where the Jets have the second-best home record in the League since Dec. 1 (17-4-1).

Both the Jets and Oilers are experiencing mini-slumps in their schedule after the Jets lost their third straight in regulation for only the second time in 2024, having been shut out 3-0 by the Capitals in their last contest. Edmonton fell 6-3 to Toronto and 5-3 to Ottawa in a back-to-back set this past weekend following wins over Buffalo and Montreal.

Tuesday will be the final regular-season matchup between the Oilers and Jets after meeting back on Nov. 30 in a 3-1 win for Edmonton that required Darnell Nurse to solve a resilient Connor Hellebuyck late to kick off a third-period comeback. The defenceman let fly a long wrist shot from distance that squeaked through the former Vezina Trophy winner, making it 1-1 with 6:39 left in regulation before Draisaitl delivered the dagger on a late power play.

Ryan McLeod added an empty-netter to secure the Oilers their fourth straight win at the time, which was part of their first eight-game win streak of the season from Nov. 24 – Dec. 12, 2023 early in Head Coach Kris Knoblauch’s tenure. Including that eight-game run, the Oilers are 39-14-3 under the bench boss and have accumulated the most wins (39), the best power play (28.6 percent - tied with Florida) and the second-best goals per game (3.77).

Forward Adam Henrique will play in his 900^th NHL game on Tuesday and will become the second Oilers player this season to hit the 900-game plateau after Evander Kane reached the mark against Los Angeles on Feb. 10.