National Hockey League
Edmonton 3, Winnipeg 1
When: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, December 21, 2015
Where: Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta
Referees: Steve Kozari, Garrett Rank
Linesmen: Don Henderson, Devin Berg
Attendance: 16839

EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Edmonton Oilers needed to get back on home ice, but they needed goalie Cam Talbot's heroics more.

Talbot made 44 saves, and right winger Teddy Purcell had two goals and an assist to lead Edmonton to a 3-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night.

Defenseman Justin Schultz also scored for the Oilers (15-18-2), who snapped a three-game losing skid and won their seventh home game in a row.

"He was tremendous, wasn't he," Edmonton coach Todd McLellan said of Talbot's performance. "Minute one through minute 60, he was easily our best player. He looked very confident. We were very, very fortunate to have him today."

Edmonton left winger Taylor Hall added, "I don't think it was the best game for us, but Cam played great, I'm really happy for him. It's a good feeling to win and go off (into the Christmas break) on a high note. It wasn't our strongest game, but a win is a win."

Center Bryan Little scored for the Jets (15-16-2), who lost for the third time in four games.

"I thought for sure that we outplayed them tonight, and I thought we deserved the two points," Jets defenseman Tyler Myers said. "At the same time, their goalie played well, and we have to bear down and finish our chances. We had a lot of chances and they just weren't going in for us."

Edmonton took a 1-0 lead 11:15 into the opening period as Hall picked up his 300th career point on a goal by Purcell that deflected off a Jets defender and past goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

Purcell then scored his second of the game with seven minutes remaining in the first, one-timing a nice cross-ice feed from center Leon Draisaitl.

Edmonton made it 3-0 eight minutes into the second period as Purcell spotted pinching defenseman Schultz wide open in front of the net for his first goal of the season. The goal chased Hellebuyck from the net after he faced just 14 shots. Michael Hutchinson took over for Winnipeg, and he wound up stopping all seven shots he saw.

The Jets got on the board with 7:33 remaining in the second period as a shot from right winger Blake Wheeler came off the glass and directly in front to Little, who batted the puck out of the air for his 13th goal of the season.

Despite swarming the Edmonton net, the Jets couldn't get anything going in the scoreless third period.

NOTES: The Jets still have one more game before the holiday break, traveling to Calgary to face the Flames on Tuesday. The Oilers are off until Saturday, then they head to Vancouver to play the Canucks. ... Out with injures for the Jets were D Grant Clitsome (back) and G Ondrej Pavelec (knee). ... Connor Hellebuyck made his fifth consecutive start in goal for the Jets. ... G Cam Talbot made his first start in the net for the Oilers at home since Halloween. ... Injured for Edmonton were C Connor McDavid (collarbone), W Rob Klinkhammer (ankle), W Nail Yakupov (ankle), D Brandon Davidson (upper body), D Oscar Klefbom (finger) and D Andrew Ference (undisclosed). ... D Mark Fayne was in the lineup after being called up from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League. ... It was the first of three games between the two teams this season. Winnipeg swept the three-game set against Edmonton last year. ... The Oilers were outscored 13-3 in their three previous games, all road losses.
Top Game Performances
 
Winnipeg   Edmonton
Bryan Little 1 Points Teddy Purcell 3
Bryan Little 1 Goals Teddy Purcell 2
Tyler Myers 1 Assists Taylor Hall 3
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Michael Hutchinson 1.000 Save Percentage Cameron Talbot .978
Connor Hellebuyck 11 Saves Cameron Talbot 44
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Winnipeg 45 1 0-5 2-2 8 22
Edmonton 21 3 0-2 5-5 14 45
Upcoming Games
  • Edmonton will play their next game on the road against Vancouver. The Oilers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .381 after a loss.
  • Winnipeg will play their next game on the road against Calgary. The Jets have a W/L % of .375 after a win and .529 after a loss.