The Edmonton Oilers improved to 3-1-1 in the 2025 NHL Preseason by blanking the Winnipeg Jets 4-0 at Rogers Place on Friday (Sept. 26) night.
Edmonton got goals from Kasperi Kapanen, Darnell Nurse, Noah Philp and Josh Samanski. Netminder Calvin Pickard made 21 saves to record a shutout for the Oilers.
There was a lot to like from an Oilers’ perspective in a game that saw the home team in control for pretty much start to finish.
Nurse Sets Great Example
Nurse stuffed the stat sheet on Friday, leading or either tying for the team lead in points (2), shots (4), plus-minus (plus-2), blocked shots (3), and time on ice (22:18). He scored what stood up as the game-winning goal at 9:12 of the first period, when he came off the blueline to take a pass from Samanski and stepped into a shot that beat Jets goaltender Domenic DiVincentiis.
The veteran blueliner is having a heck of a preseason, with goals in both of his games thus far. Not bad for a guy who lit the lamp just five times during the entire 2024-25 season. More notably, he’s blocked a total of nine shots in two games, which says a lot about the 30-year-old veteran who will be making $9.25 million per season for the next five years and has absolutely nothing to prove. It also sets a great example for young would-be NHLers to follow.
Philp Makes Strong Statement
Philp sure seems to like playing the Jets. On Tuesday (Sept. 23), he was named First Star of the Game after picking up two assists to help Edmonton defeat Winnipeg 3-2 at Canada Life Centre. Three days later, the 27-year-old forward scored his first goal of the preseason, taking a feed in the slot from Troy Stetcher and putting the puck past DiVincentiis clean with a beautiful shot to give the Oilers a 3-0 lead at 2:26 of the second period.
He didn’t repeat as First Star against the Jets – that honour went to Samanski – but Philp was named Second Star after delivering another solid all-around performance.
Related: Noah Philp Could Be Oilers’ Spiritual Successor to Derek Ryan
Coming into Friday’s game, Philp had arguably been Edmonton’s most impressive skater in the preseason, showcasing an ability to positively affect the game in a number of facets, and he certainly didn’t do anything to discourage that narrative against the Jets. The 6-foot-3 centre now has a team-high four points and leads all Oilers forwards with a plus/minus of plus-4 this preseason. He’s making a serious case to be on Edmonton’s season-opening roster, and it’s getting stronger by the game.
“I’d love to,” Philp said about cracking the Oilers lineup. “That’s why I’m here. That’s the goal. They always tell you — and it’s true — that it’s up to you.”
Pickard in Midseason Form
Pickard wasn’t overly tested on Friday, but he made a few nice stops among his 21 saves, including eight while Winnipeg had the man advantage.
The 33-year-old has been dialed in this preseason, stopping all 29 shots he’s faced in 93:10 of action over two appearances. While fellow veteran goalie Stuart Skinner didn’t look quite so sharp in his only appearance of the preseason so far, allowing three goals on 18 shots against the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday (Sept. 24) at Rogers Place, Pickard already appears ready for the 2025-26 season to get going.
Things Get Testy
The reason Pickard faced so many power-play shots is that the Jets had four opportunities with the man advantage on Friday. Edmonton also had four power plays in a game that saw each team assessed nine penalties for 29 minutes.
Suffice to say, things got a bit heated on the Rogers Place ice between these Western Canadian rivals. While Josh Brown of the Oilers and Winnipeg’s Tyrel Bauer dropped the gloves early in the second period, the majority of the rough stuff happened when the game was well out of hand during the third period; 11 penalties were handed out over the final 15 minutes of the game. Kapanen and Jets blueliner Logan Stanley were both given 10-minute misconducts after a scrum broke out midway through the third.
It was a little bit more chippy than the average preseason game, but no one in the crowd of 16,491 seemed to mind, especially after Wednesday’s snooze fest against Seattle.
The Oilers return to action on Sunday (Sept. 28) for their final home game of the preseason, against the Vancouver Canucks. Edmonton then heads on the road for a pair of contests, at Seattle and Vancouver, to wrap up its 2025 preseason schedule.
