On a night in Winnipeg when the team wasn’t playing at its best, but still managed to defeat the Jets with a victory, we take a look at the three best Oilers players.
In some ways, the Oilers’ recent turnaround was perfectly exemplified by Thursday night’s game in Winnipeg. The 3-1 victory over the Jets was well-earned even though it wasn’t the best showing from them thus far this season.
Even though the Oilers outperformed their hosts, it certainly seemed like it wasn’t going to be their night. But in the end, they won the game after scoring three goals in the last seven minutes.
The Oilers have now won four straight games, which is a season-high, but there is still much work to be done. In any case, let’s list the top three players on the team for the evening:
That’s more like it; this is what fans of Darnell Nurse were hoping to see. This is the player who can elevate the performance of the Oilers’ blue line to a more respectable level.
Nurse emerged as a symbol of the Oilers’ general shoddy defensive play during the team’s dreadful 2023–24 season’s opening stretch. That’s what happens when you earn a guaranteed salary of $74 million as a former seventh overall draft pick.
But as of late, the 28-year-old has really elevated his game, especially in his games against the Golden Knights and Ducks. In Winnipeg on Thursday evening, there was more of the same.
Nurse expertly managed the game from the blue line, recording a team- and even game-high 24:02 minutes of ice time. His defensive performance against the Jets demonstrated that he is currently in a zone.
Furthermore, at 13:11 in the last frame, the Hamilton, Ontario native scored the vital goal that tied the game. Even though it passed Connor Hellebuyck with some luck, it still counts and gave the Oilers the momentum they needed to continue winning.
To be fair, Nurse has made an effort this season even though things haven’t gone his way. The best example of this is that, through 22 games of the season, he leads the Oilers with 47 blocks while ranking second on the team in hits.
After the game, Nurse was questioned about the team’s tenacity and composure in the face of a 1-0 deficit. In an address to the press, he stated:
There, the team’s poise was clearly visible. It was encouraging to see where the team is headed, and I believe we can gain a lot of confidence from this game, especially since we were down 1-0 in the first and refrained from opening up and going for too much offense even though we knew we had a chance to score.
