VANCOUVER — Tucker Poolman showed very few signs of nerves as he made his NHL debut.

The Winnipeg Jets rookie defenceman stepped into the lineup and didn’t look out of place at all, taking 19 shifts for 14:30 of ice time while playing mostly on a pairing with Toby Enstrom in a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday at Rogers Place.

“He did all the simple things well and he just settled into the game,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice said. “He’s just a smart, smart defenceman with the puck. He’s 24 years old and that’s a big difference than (when) an 18 or 19 year old comes in. He’s physically mature and he can handle the game down low. It was a really good game for him.”

Poolman did all the things he did during the pre-season, using his mobility and hockey sense to move the puck and be in the proper position defensively.

“He was great. Almost effortless-looking,” said Jets captain Blake Wheeler. “He skates really well, kept it simple and didn’t try to do too much. He made the right pass when he needed to and played within himself. Pretty impressive for a young guy to come in and play defence against that team.”

BYFUGLIEN SITS OUT

Because Maurice said rather emphatically that defenceman Dustin Byfuglien was going to play after needing a maintenance day on Sunday, the conspiracy theorists were out in full force when he was not on the ice for the pre-game warm-up.

Many were suggesting Byfuglien was being benched for his defensive-zone play through the first two games.

The problem with the theory was that Byfuglien hadn’t been on the ice the past two days and if he was being punished, he would have been on the ice taking part in an extra conditioning skate with the other scratches on Monday.

Following the game, Maurice said Byfuglien was day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

“He just never warmed up,” Maurice said. “He came in for the morning skate and we tried to loosen it up and it didn’t quite warm up. Then he came in an hour before (the pre-game warm-up) and we do a bunch of things with these injuries and if he doesn’t feel right, we don’t put him on the ice.”

Byfuglien was spotted walking with a bit of a limp in the hallway after the game, so it will be interesting to see how the injury progresses during the coming days.

Given how well Poolman played on Monday, it will allow the Jets to ensure Byfuglien is as close to 100% as possible before he’s put back into the lineup.

THE 700 CLUB

Wheeler suited up in his 700th NHL game on Monday and he made it a memorable one, chipping in three helpers in what was a solid all-around effort for the Jets’ captain.

“I feel lucky,” said Wheeler, who has four assists in three games this season. “I’ve been blessed with some great opportunities. I’m very fortunate to have played on some great teams with some great players. I’m having blast and hopefully there are more nights like (Monday) to come.

“You blink your eyes and you go from a 22-year-old kid and all of a sudden, you’re one of the older guys with three kids. It does go by fast.”

Wheeler has 199 goals, 319 assists and 518 points in those 700 games with the Jets, Atlanta Thrashers and Boston Bruins.

TIMELY TIMEOUT

After several Jets players talked about the importance of the timeout Maurice called at 13:33 of the second period, the head coach was asked about what message he was trying to get across after the Oilers had scored twice in 40 seconds to tie up the contest.

“It was an opportunity for us to handle (the adversity) and we did,” Maurice said. “The result of it is that (Nikolaj Ehlers) scores a big goal. But the two shifts (after the Oilers second goal) were right and we just relaxed, (played) simple and hard. Or something like that.”

THREE-LINE GAME

With a couple of extra days between games — and the Jets feeling a sense of urgency to get into the win column — Maurice cut down to three lines for a good chunk of the second and third periods on Monday.

That meant it was a relatively quiet night for Marko Dano (6:53), Andrew Copp (7:13) and Nic Petan (10:13).

Petan’s ice time was a bit higher because he saw 2:23 of power-play time on the first unit, but most of his even-strength ice time during the final 40 minutes went to Brandon Tanev.

Tanev played 12:49 and finished with six hits and two blocked shots, though he took an undisciplined cross-checking minor at 6:42 of the third period when the Jets were clinging to a two-goal lead.

“A lot of speed,” said Maurice, asked about what he’s seen from Tanev. “He’s been hard on pucks, made really good decisions and shown some hands, found a way to get a breakaway in each game. And he’s been a good penalty killer.”

Under the circumstances, you can understand why Maurice shortened the bench.

But before long, the Jets are going to need to find a fourth line that can log a bit more ice time or they’ll run the risk of taxing their top-line forwards.

kwiebe@postmedia.com