Kuemper said he learned he would be starting Wednesday morning, which has allowed him to prepare differently than he otherwise may have.
"It shouldn't really matter that much but it gives you that extra little bit just to get your mindset ready and a little bit of extra time to focus," Kuemper said. "This late in the season it's easier to just go in there and play."
The Wild also will be without forward Jason Pominville, who will miss the game because of a lower-body injury and is day-to-day. Pominville had tied Kyle Brodziak's Wild record of 232 consecutive games played.
Justin Fontaine will step into Pominville's third-line spot.
"We think [Fontaine] is going to come in and do a good job," Wild interim coach John Torchetti said. "It's a good situation for him. We had him in a checking role before and he's got the good hockey sense offensively to fill it in. We'll miss [Pominville] for sure but someone else gets an opportunity. And it's good that we have extra bodies to have that opportunity to be in the lineup."
Edmonton will be without defenseman Darnell Nurse, who received a three-game suspension from the NHL Department of Player Safety on Thursday. He received supplemental discipline under Rule 46.2 Aggressor of an altercation during an incident with San Jose Sharks defenseman Roman Polak on Tuesday.
"I'm a hard player; always have been," Nurse said. "I like to go out and stick up for my teammates. You've got to do it at the right times and in the right way. [Tuesday] was probably a little overboard."
Oilers defenseman Adam Pardy is expected to be a game-time decision because of an undisclosed injury. Pardy did not practice Wednesday but skated briefly Thursday morning. If he can't play, Nikita Nikitin will take his spot in the lineup.
Edmonton coach Todd McLellan said defenseman Andrej Sekera, who did not practice Wednesday, will play Thursday.
Cam Talbot will start in goal for the Oilers.
Here are the projected lineups:
OILERS
Taylor Hall - Connor McDavid - Zack Kassian
Pat Maroon - Leon Draisaitl - Jordan Eberle
Lauri Korpikoski - Mark Letestu - Nail Yakupov
Adam Cracknell - Anton Lander - Iiro Pakarinen
Andrej Sekera - Mark Fayne
Griffin Reinhart - Adam Clendening
Jordan Oesterle - Adam Pardy
Cam Talbot
Laurent Brossoit
Injured: Oscar Klefbom (leg), Andrew Ference (hip), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (hand), Brandon Davidson (knee), Benoit Pouliot (shoulder), Eric Gryba (knee)
Scratched: Luke Gazdic, Nikita Nikitin
Suspended: Darnell Nurse
WILD
Zach Parise - Mikko Koivu - Charlie Coyle
Jason Zucker - Mikael Granlund - Thomas Vanek
Nino Niederreiter - Erik Haula - Justin Fontaine
Chris Porter - Jarret Stoll - David Jones
Ryan Suter - Jared Spurgeon
Marco Scandella - Matt Dumba
Jonas Brodin - Mike Reilly
Darcy Kuemper
Steve Michalek
Injured: Jason Pominville (lower body), Devan Dubnyk (illness)
Scratched: Ryan Carter, Nate Prosser
Status report:Nugent-Hopkins practiced Thursday and could return to the lineup as soon as Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes. He's been out since Jan. 18. ... Pominville is expected to accompany the Wild on their three-game road trip, which start Saturday at the Montreal Canadiens.
Who's hot: Hall has two goals in his past four games. ... Koivu has a point in three straight games.
