EDMONTON, Alberta -- In a game between one goalie who was covered in rust and another who was drowning in nerves, rust posted a 2-1 victory.

Winnipeg Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec, in his first game back after three months on injured reserve, made 21 saves in regulation and overtime to beat Edmonton Oilers goalie Laurent Brossoit, who was making his first NHL start of the year and just the second of his career.

Right winger Blake Wheeler and left winger Andrew Ladd struck the deciding blows for the Jets, scoring shootout goals to seal the win at Rexall Place.

"To win always feels good," said Pavelec, who hadn't tasted victory since Nov. 18. "It was nice to be back after almost three months. I enjoyed it. It was a good win."

The Oilers didn't exactly put a lot of pressure on the Pavelec in his return from a knee injury. They managed eight shots in the first period, six in the second and seven in the third despite five power plays.

"They were patient, they were waiting for their opportunities and in the first few minutes that helped me a lot," Pavelec said. "I was able to move a little bit around the net without a shot."

The Jets played a tight, solid game, vowing not to give the Oilers any easy offense. And they didn't.

"If they are going to out battle us in their defensive zone, take the puck 200 feet down the ice and score a goal, then you have to tip your cap to them," Wheeler said. "But we knew if we made them come 200 feet, we would make it a long night for him."

The Jets are last in the Central Division but haven't given up hope on a playoff spot. The win improves their record to 24-27-3, but they are still eight points and five teams below the final wild-card spot.

This is a start, though.

"We were real good through 50 minutes of hockey and I thought maybe a little longer than that," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "When we made some mistakes, our goaltender was the difference.

"We had some real good efforts by a number of defenseman tonight. I think the guys did a good job of letting him break in a little bit early and not see anything too dangerous and then he settle in through the second."

Brossoit, 22, was called up from the AHL late last week and wasn't supposed to play Saturday but was pressed into action when starter Cam Talbot came down with the flu. Brossoit held up well, getting the Oilers to overtime on a night they were outshot 33-22.

"LB played great for us in net," Oilers winger Matt Hendricks said. "That was a heck of a job coming in when he wasn't expecting to. We got a point. It's a good sign.

"We were down by one late in the third and were able to tie it up and push in overtime."

Brossoit has only played two NHL games, but he has had a hard-luck result both times. In his debut last year against San Jose, he made 49 saves in a 3-1 loss. This time, it was 32 in a 2-1 defeat.

"Deja vu," he said. "Feeling good and not getting the result. You can't be satisfied with just getting one point. I felt pretty good for the most part. There are still some things I want to tidy up at this level, but for the most part I felt good.

"It feels good to get a point, but shootouts are something I'm pretty confident in, so it's kind of frustrating losing a point that way."

After a scoreless first period, Winnipeg opened the scoring with the only goal of the second period, on a two-on-one with Wheeler converting a pass from left winger Nick Ehlers at 7:15.

The Jets had a chance to go up 2-0 and salt the game away on a power play midway through the third period, but instead of pulling away for good, they gave up a short-handed breakaway goal to Hendricks.

The Oilers, who have lost four of their last five, fell to 22-29-5.

NOTES: Oilers RW Jordan Eberle played his 400th NHL game on Saturday. At age 25, Eberle is already the longest serving active member of the team. ... Oilers G Cam Talbot came down with the flu and was unable to play, giving recently recalled G Laurent Brossoit his first NHL start of the season and second of his career. ... All-star LW Taylor Hall is on a five-game scoring drought. ... Winnipeg G Ondrej Pavelec played his first game after missing the last three months with a knee injury. ... After 55 games last year, the Jets had 64 points. This year, they have 53. ... The Jets haven't won more than two games in a row all season. ... Jets C Mark Scheifele played his 200th NHL game. ... Oilers rookie C Connor McDavid has 12 points in his first seven games back after missing three months with a broken collarbone.