OILERS 7 JETS 3

Rattie scores 2, assists on 3

If you’re wondering what one learns from an exhibition game where the home side trots out Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl for their paying public and the visitors’ most experienced forwards are Adam Lowry and Andrew Copp, well, life isn’t supposed to be fair in pre-season.

So, of course, the Edmonton Oilers beat a team that looked a whole lot like their AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose 7-3 Thursday.

The Oilers are 3-0 in pre-season play but, unfortunately, there are no points given out in September after wins over Calgary, Vancouver and now the Winnipeg Jets.

We’ll see how it is Sunday in Winnipeg when Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele are in the Jets lineup and the Oilers take their fourth-liners — but we’ll deal with that in a few days.

In this one, the Oilers’ No. 1 line of McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Ty Rattie had nine points. McDavid juked past Jake Trouba and scored the game’s best goal on Eric Comrie, fed Nugent-Hopkins for two and Rattie for one.

Rattie, meanwhile did what he has to do to stay in the company of the captain, registering five points.

Is it too early to start calling

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Rattie the Late8 as confrere Rob Tychkowski cleverly says, because he’s 25 and trying to find his way to regular employment? Rattie got his third and fourth goal of the preseason, lifting one deftly over a diving Eric Comrie’s mitt. He also had three assists.

Oilers coach Todd McLellan, who hands out the player grades, says Rattie may have learned what it takes.

“Ty looks like a more desperate, hungrier player this year than last and that’s telling me that he believes he belongs here.”

Jets rookie D Logan Stanley

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is six-foot-seven and still growing, but when you’re that big it’s hard to hide. McDavid picked his pocket and fed Nugent-Hopkins for a wide-open slapper goal. Jesse Puljujarvi sliced past the former first-rounder for another Oilers snipe. Stanley probably had some road rash after this game.

The symbiotic relationship

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between Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid continues. RNH thinks the game like McDavid, which helps. As McLellan says: “I am impressed with the fact the two of them found each other and jelled so quickly. Now, can that continue? Smart players, skilled players, competitive guys can adjust fairly quick to that type of change. I think it’s easier to go from the centre ice position to the wing position. Much easier than going the other way.”

So much for that crafty passing

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on that first Oilers power play, with five lefties — McDavid, NugentHopkins, Draisaitl, Milan Lucic and Oscar Klefbom. Seconds after they left the ice, Puljujarvi took Ethan Bear’s feed, sliced between Logan Stanley and Joe Morrow and it was 1-0. Puljujarvi had drawn the penalty on another breakaway when hooked by Trouba.

Comrie, who faced 17 first-period

■ shots and 11 more in the second, will probably be the starter for the AHL Manitoba Moose because he doesn’t have to clear waivers and ex-Oilers backup Laurent Brossoit does, so he’ll be Connor Hellebuyck’s caddy. Both Comrie and Brossoit are making the same US$650,000.

Late in the first frame, Lucic

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looked crossly at Jets rookie Brendan Lemieux, Claude’s offspring who was running around a bit and had drawn a roughing penalty on Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse, his head snapping back.

Plusses and minus with first pick

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Evan Bouchard: the defenceman made a wonderful relay to Rattie all alone in the first period after a McDavid drop-pass, but lost Adam Lowry in the second as Lowry tipped Andrew Copp’s crease feed past Talbot.

McLellan gave Cam Talbot the

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whole game rather than split it with Mikko Koskinen and will give either the Finn or Al Montoya the 60 minutes in Winnipeg Sunday in a much sterner test against the Jets’ A team. They only had four forwards — Lowry, Copp, Brandon Tanev and Marko Dano — with any real NHL experience, along with Jake Trouba and Josh Morrissey on the back-end.

Talbot was sharp, but was shaking his head when Dano’s wrister from 30-feet got under his glove in the second.