EDMONTON, AB – Goaltender Calvin Pickard made all 21 saves, while defenceman Darnell Nurse and forwards Josh Samanski, Noah Philp and Kasperi Kapanen provided the goals for the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night in a 4-0 shutout of the Winnipeg Jets in pre-season action at Rogers Place.
“We were playing at a high pace and we were skating,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We were checking well and we were on the attack. Obviously, there were some breakdowns, but Picks was solid and has had a great preseason so far. But overall, I was happy with the way the guys played.”
Nurse kicked off the scoring in the first period before Samanski added another to make it 2-0 before the intermission to activate cruise control for the Oilers, who were oozing confidence and increased their lead with two more confident finishes from Philp and Kapanen in the second and third periods.
Samanski finished with a goal and an assist alongside Nurse, who added four shots, three blocks and two hits to go with his two-point performance.
“It takes a little bit at first – I’m used to the bigger ice and maybe a little bit more time – but it’s been a lot of fun, especially skating with NHL players and getting used to their pace, how they play and carry themselves on and off the ice,” Samanski said. “It’s been very helpful for me, and I think I’ve adjusted pretty well up until this point. I’m trying to keep getting better at every single thing.”
Pickard looked composed between the pipes on Friday to earn the shutout with 21 saves, giving the netminder 29 total stops over four-and-a-half periods of action for the Oilers this preseason.
Defencemen Troy Stecher and Brett Kulak, and forwards Roby Jarventie and David Tomasek each picked up helpers in the victory that moves Edmonton’s pre-season record to 3-1-1, including two victories over the Jets after they were victorious at Canada Life Centre this past Tuesday in Winnipeg.
The Oilers will host their final home exhibition tune-up on Sunday, when the Vancouver Canucks visit Rogers Place before heading out on the road next week to Seattle and Vancouver to close out the preseason.