5 numbers that explain how the Jets put the Oilers in a major hole
The Winnipeg Jets beat the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 in overtime Friday night to take a commanding lead in their North Division playoff series. Here are five stats that contextualize where this matchup is at through Game 2.
49:59: McDavid's total ice time without a point
Defending Connor McDavid is a tightrope walk - stressful and more daunting the longer it lasts. Winnipeg escaped Game 1 unscathed: McDavid's forechecking helped swing possession ahead of Jesse Puljujarvi's goal, but he finished pointless in a loss. One leg of the journey down.
The Jets made it 2-for-2 Friday. Winnipeg's defense corps has accomplished something remarkable regardless of how soon Edmonton's stars net the first goal they desperately await. Blanking McDavid twice in a row is a singular rarity; he was kept off back-to-back scoresheets just once during this past Art Ross Trophy campaign. When he skated with Leon Draisaitl, his Game 2 left-winger, at five-on-five this year, the overall score favored the Oilers 33-17, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Dave Tippett's lineup shuffle made no difference because the Jets were constantly in McDavid's way. Bodies cramped his space and steered his rushes to the outside. Model stickwork from McDavid's primary (Dylan DeMelo and Josh Morrissey) and occasional defenders (Logan Stanley and Derek Forbort) jammed passing and shooting lanes. Wherever he buzzed, cut, deked, feinted, or loaded to fire, a Winnipeg twig interrupted his flow, throwing him off by a vital split-second or inch.
Draisaitl played 24:41 in Game 1 and 30:21 Friday, meaning he hasn't scored in more than 55 minutes. These are the world's most fearsome forwards, and the Jets won't run out the clock on this series before they strike. But Winnipeg is already halfway there.
73: Combined saves before OT goal
As I wrote after Game 1, Mike Smith's career track record isn't as strong as Connor Hellebuyck's - hardly a slight, considering Winnipeg's goalie owns a Vezina Trophy and a runner-up finish. That said, Smith was awesome Friday when he stockpiled 14 saves in the fast-paced first 10 minutes alone. If he was off at all, Kyle Connor could have bagged a hat trick.
For the second straight game, Edmonton won the expected goals battle at five-on-five - although Natural Stat Trick reports a slim margin, 2.4 to 2.3 - only to be rebuffed by Hellebuyck's stellar positioning and cool under pressure. If we're lauding great stickwork, Hellebuyck's poke check on Draisaitl needs to be mentioned, seeing how he negated Paul Stastny's potentially costly defensive-zone turnover.
On the Sportsnet broadcast, color analyst Louie DeBrusk said late in regulation that neither goalie would miss a puck they could see. In overtime, on Winnipeg's 36th shot and the 74th of the game, Stastny's wrister eluded Smith top-shelf when Dmitry Kulikov and Adam Larsson drifted into the netminder's sightline. Wise words from DeBrusk, and a bad break for a guy who'll need to stand as tall again to spark an Oilers comeback.
74: Jets' combined hits and blocked shots
In Game 1 of the North Division's other series Thursday, the Montreal Canadiens belted the Toronto Maple Leafs with 55 hits. As my colleague John Matisz noted, the barrage was partly strategic and partly a matter of necessity: Montreal didn't possess the puck on any of those plays.
The Jets and Habs, like the Oilers and Leafs, aren't perfect analogs, but both teams are operating at a talent deficit and have compensated by sacrificing the body. In Game 1, Winnipeg recorded a season-high 68 hits and blocked 19 shots. In Game 2, the Jets threw 52 hits and impeded 22 shots. If you can't pass or shoot yourself, aim to foil the slick opposition's best-laid plans.
Edmonton's power play clicked a league-best 27.6% of the time this season but is 0-4 for the series, and the Jets' penalty killing in the third period Friday typified why. Draisaitl and McDavid teed up shots from both faceoff circles, but Forbort blocked the first from his knee and DeMelo, lying on his back, flung his arms skyward to stop McDavid's effort with his right wrist.
This takes a toll - DeMelo retreated to the Winnipeg dressing room for a while - but the payoff is immense.
10: Dubois' points in 2020 postseason
Consider this number representative of Pierre-Luc Dubois' optimal playoff form - the production he could replicate but hasn't yet after missing Game 1 and logging 13:05 of ice time in Game 2. He was a beast for the Columbus Blue Jackets in last year's Toronto playoff bubble, burning the hometown Leafs for a hat trick (and the OT winner in that game, to boot) and notching a goal and six assists across nine other games.
Dubois looms as a possible X-factor in this series if he can bottle Friday's last five minutes of regulation. Quiet to that point, he outraced Kulikov to avoid an icing call and set up Stastny for a slot attempt. Later, he gained the zone and fed Andrew Copp cross-ice - through a double team, no less - for a promising chance that was blocked.
Dubois never got rolling this season after the Jan. 23 Patrik Laine trade, and it wasn't just because of quarantine rust. He hasn't scored since April 5 or recorded an assist in a month.
Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Blake Wheeler have helped corral McDavid; they're sure to handle that matchup again in Winnipeg now that the last change belongs to Paul Maurice. One line down the depth chart, Nikolaj Ehlers' status remains uncertain, but Dubois is back, and as Stastny demonstrated in OT, the opportunity to contribute is there to be seized.
0-6: Winnipeg’s record in Edmonton series
Younger fans might not appreciate the context, and no player should spare it a thought, but this subplot is fun regardless. The original Winnipeg Jets stunk against the Oilers in the postseason, dropping six matchups between 1983-90 as Edmonton built a dynasty and pain permeated Manitoba.
The details are nastier than the series record lets on. Taking cues from Wayne Gretzky, the Oilers won 16 straight games to sweep the first four encounters and cruise in the fifth, and they erased Winnipeg's 3-1 series lead in the 1990 finale. Distant as it is, the city's playoff history is crushing.
Basically, it befits a division where some of hockey's most infamous underperformers reigned this season. Chief among them is Toronto, the North champ that hasn't won a series - but has lost four winner-take-all games in the opening round - since the 2005 lockout. Edmonton won a round in 2017 and promptly missed the next three postseasons, last year's play-in debacle against No. 12 seed Chicago notwithstanding.
Names on the back of the jersey change, but fans remember the letdowns and bear the baggage. Something to think about as the series shifts to Bell MTS Place and the Jets, up by a couple of wins again, aim to flip the script.
Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.