Oilers at Wild preview

OILERS (7-1-1) at WILD (2-6-0)
8 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-WI, SNOL, NHL.TV

The forward missed four games with a lower-body injury and will try to help the Wild win consecutive games for the first time since a five-game winning streak from Feb. 21 to March 2. Minnesota avoided its worst start to a season with a 4-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.
The Oilers are 2-1-1 in their past four games after a five-game winning streak (5-0-0) to begin the season. Edmonton concludes a two-game road trip after losing 1-0 to the Winnipeg Jets in a shootout Sunday.

Players to watch

Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl was held without a point Sunday for the first time this season. He has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in nine games and is three assists away from 200 in the NHL.
Wild forward Jason Zucker had a goal and an assist against the Canadiens. He's scored three goals in eight games, tied for the team lead with forward Zach Parise and defenseman Brad Hunt. Each of his goals has come on the power play.

They said it

"[Minnesota is] a team that, they dug themselves a bit of a hole, but they're going to try to scratch and claw their way out of it. We've got to be prepared." -- Oilers coach Dave Tippett
"[Edmonton's] obviously off to a great start, and [center Connor McDavid] is off to a great start. We could talk about McDavid all night long, but there's a lot of other players that are having great starts. ... As much as we have to worry about him all the time, I think the reason their record is what it is, is because everybody is playing well." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau

Oilers projected lineup

Leon Draisaitl -- Connor McDavid -- Zack Kassian
Alex Chiasson -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- James Neal
Jujhar Khaira -- Riley Sheahan -- Josh Archibald
Tomas Jurco -- Markus Granlund -- Patrick Russell
Darnell Nurse -- Ethan Bear
Oscar Klefbom -- Kris Russell
Brandon Manning -- Matt Benning
Mike Smith
Mikko Koskinen
Scratched: William Lagesson, Sam Gagner
Injured: Adam Larsson (leg), Joakim Nygard (rib), Joel Persson (concussion)

Wild projected lineup

Jordan Greenway -- Eric Staal -- Mats Zuccarello
Zach Parise -- Mikko Koivu -- Jason Zucker
Ryan Donato -- Luke Kunin -- Gerry Mayhew
Marcus Foligno -- Gabriel Dumont -- Ryan Hartman
Ryan Suter -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Mathew Dumba
Carson Soucy -- Brad Hunt
Devan Dubnyk
Alex Stalock
Scratched: Nick Seeler
Injured: Joel Eriksson Ek (lower body), Victor Rask (lower body), Kevin Fiala (lower body), Greg Pateryn (core)

Status report

Smith will start his second straight game for Edmonton. ... Eriksson Ek was placed on injured reserve Tuesday. …Fiala is day to day.

Stat pack

McDavid is without a point in two straight games. He has not gone three consecutive games without a point since Dec. 29, 2017 - Jan. 2, 2018. … Spurgeon will play his 600th game in the NHL. ... Boudreau is one coaching win from passing Billy Reay (542) for sole possession of 23rd place.