The Jets put the Oilers on the verge of elimination when Ehlers scores the game-winning goal.

Returning from a long injury layoff is difficult enough, according to Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler. Jumping into playoff hockey, where the tempo and strength are cranked up to sky-high speeds, is significantly more challenging.

Nikolaj Ehlers, it seems, was not informed of this. In his first game since April 24, Ehlers scored his second goal of the game in overtime, and the Winnipeg Jets outscored the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 in the third period to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series on Sunday.

With a win on Monday, the Jets will wrap up the series. In a wild three minutes and three seconds of the third period, Mathieu Perreault, Blake Wheeler, and Josh Morrissey scored three Winnipeg goals to send the game to overtime.

Then, at 9:13 of the extra period, Ehlers, who had missed the final 11 games of the regular season due to an upper-body injury, scored off an offensive zone face-off to put the Jets in control of the series.

The importance of Ehlers' success was emphasized by Wheeler. Paul Maurice, the Jets' coach, was overjoyed to see Ehlers return. For the Oilers, Leon Draisaitl had two goals and an assist, while Zack Kassian and Jujhar Khaira each scored one goal. Connor McDavid contributed two assists.

Mike Smith saved 32-of-37 shots in the loss, while Connor Hellebuyck made 44 saves for the Jets. After erasing a three-goal deficit in the final 10 minutes of regulation, the Jets became the 10th team in NHL history to win a playoff game. The comeback, according to Maurice, was the biggest of his coaching career.

The only thing that's missing is... Observers. The game was played in front of no fans at Bell MTS Place due to COVID-19 protocols in Manitoba.

The game's turning point came in the third period when Josh Archibald was sent to the penalty box for clipping Logan Stanley, a move that will be reviewed by the NHL's department of player safety on Monday.