PREVIEW: Oilers at Jets

The Edmonton Oilers return to Winnipeg for the second time in two weeks to face the Jets at Canada Life Centre on Thursday night.

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PREVIEW: Oilers at Jets

WINNIPEG, MB – For the final time this regular season and the second time in under two weeks, the Edmonton Oilers will do battle with the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night when the two Canadian sides meet to conclude their season series at Canada Life Centre.

The Oilers were 3-1 winners back on Dec. 29 in this very same building when Calvin Pickard pitched a 41-save performance, with goals arriving from Max Jones, Jack Roslovic and Zach Hyman in the victory that was their seventh game in their last eight against the Jets with a point, going 5-1-2 over that span.

Earlier in December, the Oilers came away with a 6-2 win on a night when they had 13 of their 18 skaters register at least a point, including multi-point nights from Evan Bouchard (1G, 1A), Leon Draisaitl (1G, 1A) and Connor McDavid (2A).

They've won each of their last four visits to Winnipeg as well as having won three straight overall against the Jets.

Goals from Curtis Lazar, Matt Savoie, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and David Tomasek all scored back on Dec. 6 on home ice, and it was much of the same story for them on Tuesday against the Predators in their well-rounded first win of 2026, where their stars and depth players both came through.

Connor McDavid continues to tear up the NHL and anyone in his path after posting a hat-trick in a 6-2 victory over Nashville, extending his point streak to 16 games with 39 points (17G, 22A) while his streak against the Predators now also stands at 16 games, including 11 goals and 26 assists over that span.

McDavid's 1.79 points per game against Nashville is the highest points per game for any player against the franchise, and he'll now go up against the Jets, who including their time as the Arizona Coyotes, he has the highest points-per-game average at 1.68 with 62 points (12G, 50A) in 37 games.

"I'm playing well," McDavid said. "I feel good. Doing a lot of things right, but it's a credit to Nuge and Hymsy getting back and putting that line back together. It's gone well. So it's fun to play with those two. It's fun to talk about the game, grow our game, and work on our game together. It makes it a lot of fun."

With another point on Tuesday against the Jets, McDavid would match his career best of 17 that he's reached twice in the '21-22 & '22-23 seasons.

Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins reached 500 career helpers, but the Oilers also received some depth scoring from their lineup when Curtis Lazar found the scoresheet and Kasperi Kapanen marked his return from injury with his first goal of the season.

After Adam Henrique was injured in the first period and didn't return, the Oilers went down to 11 forwards but found the right combinations, with Lazar scoring just 22 seconds after McDavid notched his second goal on a penalty shot during the second period on a follow-up shift from the fourth line.

With Henrique being placed on IR on Wednesday, the Oilers will rely upon Lazar to play a larger role moving forward as a right-handed centre.

"He played really well, obviously getting a goal there; he and Janmark together played well. They rotated their wingers, whether it was Roslovic or Savoie," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "Lazar's an important player to have in our lineup, taking D zone face-offs, and just when you need him, you can rely on him. I know he's been in and out of the lineup, but I think he's been very dependable."

Kapanen was back on the second line with Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin to score on his return from a 36-game injury absence – a long recovery that was made longer after he reaggravated his lower-body injury during practice in late November while being so close to getting back in the lineup.

"All the guys are so happy for him," Knoblauch said. "Here's a guy that worked incredibly hard to get back in the lineup, and here he comes back, his first game, and gets a goal and an assist. We knew that he was going to help us and not necessarily on the scoresheet, but with his physicality and just all-around game. That's what we expect from him. After taking almost three months off, we didn't expect that, but he put in the work."