EDMONTON, AB – Defenceman Cam Dineen secured the Edmonton Oilers the overtime victory on Sunday night in their 2024 pre-season debut, scoring the game-winning goal 1:17 into sudden death at Rogers Place in a 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets.

Forwards Vasily Podkolzin and Matt Savoie provided the assists on Dineen’s deciding tally after 2024 first-round pick Sam O’Reilly erased an early lead for the Jets in the first period before winger Raphael Lavoie scored on the power play in the middle frame to temporarily give the Blue & Orange the 2-1 advantage.

Goaltenders Olivier Rodrigue and Collin Dellia split the victory, making seven and 11 saves respectively to help backstop the Blue & Orange to a victory in their first of eight matches this preseason.

After only 20 of their 57 players attending Training Camp were called into action on Sunday, the Oilers will need contributions from everybody on Monday when they split up the squad for matches against their provincial rivals the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place and Scotiabank Saddledome.

FIRST PERIOD

Despite conceding the first goal in the opening seconds to the Jets, the Oilers responded quickly through their 2024 first-round pick Sam O’Reilly, who immediately made himself known to those in attendance at Rogers Place for Sunday’s pre-season opener.

David Gustafsson put Winnipeg on the board only 17 seconds into the contest with a deflection off defenceman Logan Stanley’s shot from the top of the left circle that the centre redirected past goaltender Oliver Rodrigue inside the right post for an early lead.

From that point onwards, the Oilers were firmly in command of the next 19:43 of the first period, ultimately tying the score almost three minutes later on a terrific turn in the neutral zone from Sam O’Reilly to open up space and accept a stretch pass through the middle from defenceman Cam Dineen.

The Oilers regrouped out of their own zone through blueliner Connor Carrick, who dished a laterallpass at the blueline to Dineen before the defenceman found O’Reilly opening up for a pass near the Jets’ blueline. Turning with the puck, O’Reilly split the Winnipeg defence and quickly moved the puck to his backhand despite pressure and fired a low effort under the left pad of goaltender Eric Comrie to tie the game at 1-1.

O’Reilly was Edmonton’s first-round selection at the 2024 NHL Draft in Las Vegas this past July after the club traded their 2025 first to Philadelphia to get the 32nd pick this year and get their guy. Early this preseason, the 18-year-old is giving fans, coaches and teammates what his future might hold in an Oilers sweater during the coming seasons.

2024 first-round pick Sam O'Reilly is quickly showing #Oilers fans what he can do. https://t.co/vMUBt6WNXw pic.twitter.com/kA408oEDXE

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 22, 2024

Not long after, defenceman Ty Emberson had a wide-open chance from the left circle foiled by a sprawling save from Comrie after a scraped shot from the bleuline fell right onto the waiting stick of the blueliner who was acquired as part of the Cody Ceci trade to San Jose this offseason.

Forward Drake Caggiula had two great scoring chances in the opening 20 minutes, first off a quick regroup in the neutral zone that caught the Jets on a bad change before he showed good speed and control near the end of the period on a rush over the Winnipeg blueline that called Comrie into making another save to keep it 1-1 after the opening period.

SECOND PERIOD

The Oilers outshot the Jets 13-5 over a scoreless frame where they had their best opportunity to take the lead on the game’s first power play assessed to defenceman Dylan Anhorn just under four minutes into the stanza.

Without Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, Ryan nugent-Hopkins and Evan Bouchard in the lineup, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch deployed a first-unit power play of Raphael Lavoie, Drake Caggiula, Matt Savoie, Vasily Podkolzin and Cam Dineen and almost immediately found the right combination.

The Blue & Orange man advantage worked a chance open for summer trade acquisition and St. Albert product Matt Savoie, who leaned into a one-timer at the left face-off dot that required Comrie to come up with a crucial save on Edmonton’s best chance of the second period.

Rodrigue was only tested with seven shots before he was taken out midway through the frame for Collin Delia, who was making his unofficial debut in Blue & Orange after being a part of the Jets organization last season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

THIRD PERIOD

Another opportunity for the Oilers with the man advantage in the final frame wouldn’t go unanswered.

But just like the Blue & Orange managed in the first period, the Jets quickly responded to make up for forward Daniel Torgersson’s hooking infraction near the midway mark of the finthat resulted in Edmonton’s brief look with the lead on Sunday night.

After defenceman Ben Gleason set him up in the right circle, Raphael Lavoie ripped a one-timer beyond Comrie to give the Oilers a 2-1 lead with 10:53 remaining in Edmonton’s 2024-25 pre-season debut. The winger is coming off a year in Bakersfield where he led Edmonton’s AHL affiliate in ’23-24 with 29 goals, and the Chambly, QC product is looking to further his cause this preseason to claim a highly-coveted NHL roster spot in Oil Country.

Raphael Lavoie hammers home his first of the pre-season https://t.co/tumeWmuEGV pic.twitter.com/eRtmzDUKVz

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 23, 2024

The Jets levelled the score just 10 seconds later, sending a quick dump-in below the goal line that forward Kevin He chased and redirected into the slot for Dominic Toninato to wrist under the blocker of Delia to tie it up at 2-2.

Condors winger Cam Wright struck the post after getting past Winnipeg’s line of defence in the last few minutes before Comrie made a massive double save against James Stephan and Noah Philp with 4:20 left in regulation. Philp is making his return to hockey this season after taking a hiatus from the sport in ’22-23 and is an important two-way, right-shot centre on Edmonton’s depth chart that could even make an impact on the NHL roster at some point this year.

The score remained tied at two after the final buzzer, and the first pre-season contest of ’24-25 would need to be solved in overtime.

Cam Dineen sends #Oilers fans home happy on Fan Day! #LetsGoOilers https://t.co/GRK1SbdcE9 pic.twitter.com/jXm4zQP66b

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) September 23, 2024

OVERTIME

After trading goals in regulation, it was only fitting Sunday’s tilt would be decided on a pair of odd-man rushes where the Oilers ultimately found the upper hand on the Jets in their first pre-season tune-up.

Delia delivered the first stop in sudden death by eating up Axel Jonsson-Fjallby’s low shot on a two-on-one in the first 45 seconds of overtime, leading to a defensive-zone faceoff and the Oilers getting the chance to go up the ice after off-season trade acquisition Vasily Podkolzin flattened Parker Ford in the left corner to get the puck to Matt Savoie start the rush up ice for Cam Dineen.

Dineen didn’t have a look from the right side on the two-on-one, but the blueliner cut into the middle against Toninato and fired the game-winning goal off the inside of Comrie’s near post to complete the 3-2 victory for the Oilers.

Savoie