Oilers' Jones, Nurse sweep Seattle's Willson in Gaming Challenge
The Edmonton Oilers defensemen pairing of Caleb Jones and Darnell Nurse swept Seattle Seahawks tight end Luke Willson 3-0 to wrap up Week 3 of the NHL Player Gaming Challenge.
The online event is in the middle of a four-week run, with games streamed on Thursdays and Saturdays. All 31 NHL teams will have representation, with Willson will represent the pending NHL Seattle expansion team.
No standings are being compiled, as the games are designed strictly for entertainment with the NHL season shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Willson, who played as various All-Star teams, is a 30-year-old from La Salle, Ontario. Primarily a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, he said he also roots for the Oilers because Edmonton winger Zack Kassian was one of Willson's hockey teammates as a kid and remains a friend.
"So to be honest with you, I root for Edmonton," Willson said before the games started. "Wherever he goes is kind of the team I go for, so I got no bad blood here."
Willson came out firing, taking a 4-0 lead with 15:54 still to play in the second period of the first game. But Jones and Nurse slowly chipped away before tying it with 3:43 to play. Willson had two shots from in close in the final seconds of regulation, but both were saved.
The Oilers' Andreas Athanasiou then picked up an errant pass for a breakaway and scored the winner 31 seconds into overtime.
In the second game, Willson trailed 4-3 in the final minute before a pair of golden opportunities, but both were saved. Edmonton's Ethan Bear then scored with 30.6 seconds left to ice it.
"I am about to punch a hole in my monitor," Willson said after missing out on the chance to tie. "I mean, bro, what more did you want to score there?"
The third game was a race to 10 goals with 3-on-3 play on the ice. The sides see-sawed back and forth until an Oilers one-timer clinched a 10-8 victory. The virtual scorer of the final goal? Kassian, of course.
"If someone had to beat me, in the final goal today, I'm glad it was Zack," Willson said. "Technically it wasn't Zack, it was like the video-game version of Zack, but you get what I'm saying."
The unveiling of the Seattle team name is expected sometime soon, but no date has been announced.
--Field Level Media
