Our countdown to the regular season trucked along tonight as our beloved @Edmonton Oilers took on the @Winnipeg Jets in their second to last tune-up game of the pre-season. I don’t know if any of you are like me, but, at this point, I’m mostly watching these games just to get my hockey fix while also making internal bets with myself about who will have spots on the roster locked up when the puck drops on October 2nd. Based on what I’ve read and what I’ve seen with my own two eyeballs, it certainly seems like there are still plenty of unknowns regarding who might stick where and games like tonight are perfect opportunities to evaluate whether or not the available applicants can handle the job. For guys like Ethan Bear and Tomas Jurco, tonight’s performances could be the difference between starting the season in the show or down on the farm.

I know some folks worry about results now that the teams have more NHLers playing, but I do not count myself among them. Win or lose, I don’t really care so long as we’re able to ice the best possible roster when the curtain opens on the regular season and that the big name locks are healthy and ready to roll. Though with that said, I’m admittedly still nervous about what’s happening in net so I really wanted to see Mike Smith stand on his head today, which would have gone a long way for calming our collective nerves. Outside of signing deals with Satan to engage some kind of Super Smith and crowning Tomas Jurco as the pre-season champ, I really just wanted to be entertained and have everyone make it through the night a little bit better than they were but, most importantly, unscathed. Am I wrong?

The good news is that the Oilers followed through with their side of the bargain and we’re all going to bed with slight pre-season smiles.

The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

@Tomas Jurco tied the game up at one apiece after the Jets coughed up a brutal giveaway in their own zone and our boys made no mistake of burying it. After picking up the turnover only feet from the net, @James Neal fed Jurco with a quick little pass into the slot that the latter was able to hammer home and tie the game. Jurco’s second goal of the night came midway through the third period after he fired a nice little wrist shot past Hellebuyck on the blocker side.
@Connor McDavid scored his first goal of the pre-season after he found himself in the perfect spot at the perfect time where he basically had a wide-open net to tuck the puck into. The captain looked much more comfortable in his second pre-season game than he did in his first. Not only did he have his wheels going, but he also had his hands back which was the only knock on his game that I saw in game one. Regardless, the dude was fun to watch all night and I’m still happy to see him out there after spending the summer worried that he’d miss some time.
@Ethan Bear tied the game up at three, early in the third period, after making a perfectly timed pinch into the slot and sinking a rebound past a sprawling Hellebuyck. Bear scored a second goal a few minutes later on the back of a wonderful play that saw him walk the line before firing a clapper past the goalie to add the 5-3 insurance marker. How can you not cheer for Ethan Bear to sneak into a roster spot that not many people would have expected him to be contending for? All summer long, folks like myself were talking about @Caleb Jones walking into a third-pairing role but it ended up being Ethan Bear’s steady play that has him on the cusp of sticking around for opening night.
@Mike Smith got his first full start of the pre-season and I was looking for him to provide solid goaltending for all 60 minutes. Both he and @Mikko Koskinen has something to prove and I was hoping he could start his redemption tour tonight in Winnipeg. While he’d probably want to clean up some of the loose ends that wound up in the back of the net tonight, I thought he played well and was specifically impressed with his ability to move the puck. I know the coming save percentage is going to piss some people off, but the guy played well enough to close out a win and we have to hope more at-bats can only be a positive thing. Smith finished with 18 saves and a .857 save%.
I’m a big @James Neal guy already. His hands and the way he forechecks are already clear upgrades on what @Milan Lucic as able to provide. I know it’s only the pre-season and blah, blah, blah but I’ve been impressed with him so far. Who knows how the season will go, but it’s clear to me that he’s an upgrade over what he was traded for.
Two casual assists for @Leon Draisaitl tonight. Here’s hoping Big Sexy 2.0 is ready to roll.
Oilers went 2/4 on the power play and they were two big goals that they needed to close this thing out. Have to be happy about that.
Sticking with the special teams, the Oilers killed off the lone PK challenge they had to face.
Big fan of @Mark Letestu crushing mustard packets on the bench. Wait until you see the gif below, it makes me laugh every time I watch it.

THE FACE PALMERS

From near the front door, CJ Suess opened the score once more I do implore. What luck he struck as he batted the puck, beating Mike Smith with a flick of his wrist. Wait, his name isn’t pronounced like Dr Seuss? Shit.
@Tucker Poolman evened the game up at 2-2 when he was able to clean up the garbage at the side of the crease. The Jets created an odd-man rush down low and it was Poolman that was there to bang home the loose puck.
@Gabriel Bourque restored the Jets’ lead after driving to the net with his stick on the ice and receiving a perfect pass from Mathieu Perreault in the slot. Perreault outworked a couple of Oilers on the forecheck and his relentlessness created the space and opportunity that the Jets needed to capitalize.
In the most delicate way possible, I wonder what’s going to happen with @Matt Benning this season. He hasn’t had the best pre-season but he’s a position of needing to contribute, and I wonder how Ken Holland will evaluate him as more games get played.
Only 45% in the faceoff circle tonight. Room to grow.
Tonight is the first time I’m going to complain about the stream. I find that it sucks on the team’s website so I had to allegedly put my pirate hat on and dive into the dark corners of the Internet to make this happen. APPRECIATE MY DEDICATION, PEOPLE!

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
10:07	Winnipeg	C.J. Suess (2) ASST: Joona Luoto (1), Neal Pionk (1)	0-1
15:09	Edmonton	Tomas Jurco (2) ASST: James Neal (1)	1-1

2ND PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
01:03	Edmonton	PPG – Connor McDavid (1) ASST: James Neal (2), Tomas Jurco (2)	2-1
04:34	Winnipeg	Tucker Poolman (1) ASST: Mark Letestu (2)	2-2
08:05	Winnipeg	Gabriel Bourque (2) ASST: Mathieu Perreault (1), Tucker Poolman (2)	2-3

3RD PERIOD

TIME	TEAM	DETAILS	SCORE
05:26	Edmonton	Ethan Bear (1) ASST: Anton Burdasov (1), Leon Draisaitl (2)	3-3
09:38	Edmonton	PPG – Tomas Jurco (3) ASST: Leon Draisaitl (3), Oscar Klefbom (5)	4-3
14:16	Edmonton	Ethan Bear (2) ASST: Gaetan Haas (1), Jujhar Khaira (2)	5-3