Noah Philp leads the way with two assists as Oilers beat Jets: Recap, Highlights, and Reaction

With just under five minutes remaining in the middle frame, the Jets found the game-tying goal, but the tie didn’t last for long. Late in the period, the Oilers were on a power play, and after a faceoff, the puck got to Atro Leppänen. The left-shot defenceman found Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who fired a cross-ice pass over to Ike Howard for a one-timer goal.

Midway through the third period, Philp forced a turnover and eventually got the puck back. The right-shot centre made the pass of the game over to wide-open Ty Emberson, who wristed it past the Jets’ goalie for a 3-1 lead. With their netminder pulled, the Jets brought the game to within one, but couldn’t find the game-tying goal.

Takeaways…

There are two plays in the first period that need to be pointed out. Early in the game, Leppänen was under pressure in his own zone and blindly fired a pass to the slot. It was picked off by a Jet, but Calvin Pickard picked off the shot with his glove.

The other notable play was a forecheck by Matthew Savoie, as he stripped the puck from a tired Jets group. It somehow led to a breakaway for the Jets, but it was good to see Savoie forecheck effectively. He looked as fast as always but had a quiet game.

Noah Philp was by far the Oilers’ player of the game, as he had two assists on two great passes. I know the Oilers signed Curtis Lazar this off-season, but the fourth-line centre role is Philp’s to lose at this point.

Ike Howard scored his first goal as an Oiler, blasting it by the Jets’ netminder on the power play. With Zach Hyman out, could Howard be an option for the Oilers’ power play for the first month? We’ll see.

Leppänen picked up an assist on Howard’s goal. Other than the previously mentioned turnover, he had a solid game and could contend for a roster spot this season. If that’s the case, moves will need to be made as the Oilers have a logjam of bottom-pairing defencemen.

Quinn Huston is another player who has impressed so far in training camp. He’s been one of the more noticeable players in all four games he’s played in (two NextGen games, two pre-season games). Like Leppänen, he could contend for a roster spot out of camp.

The Oilers’ first line in this game consisted of Howard, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Kasperi Kapanen. When Hyman returns, that is a solid third line as they showed chemistry in this game. Another regular, Calvin Pickard, started for the Oilers, stopping all eight shots he faced. Matt Tomkins allowed two goals on 15 shots.

You don’t have to wait long to see the Oilers back in action, as they return home to host the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday at 7:00 PM MT.