Talbot lifts Oilers past Wild in return

ST. PAUL, Minn. --Cam Talbot made 29 saves in his return to lift the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 win against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday.
Talbot missed seven games with an upper-body injury; he hadn't played since Nov. 28.

WATCH: [All Oilers vs. Wild highlights]
Edmonton helped Talbot adjust by limiting Minnesota early. The Wild didn't take their third shot on goal until 5:58 remained in the first period.
"It's nice for the guys to ease me into the game," Talbot said. "Sometimes coming off an extended period like that, sometimes you want early work. But they kept the first few to the outside and let me get comfortable, and just battled out from there and just tried to control the game."
Milan Lucic, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jesse Puljujarvi scored for the Oilers (14-17-2).

"It's great to have him," Lucic said of Talbot. "I think everyone gets a little boost of confidence when the starter's back in the lineup. He looked like he was himself here today."
Matt Dumba scored twice for Minnesota (17-12-3), which lost for the first time in five games (4-1-0). Alex Stalock made 26 saves.
"Obviously I didn't get them ready enough to play or they didn't get themselves ready enough to play," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Or maybe a combination of both."
Edmonton was 0-for-6 on the power play, but Nugent-Hopkins scored a shorthanded goal 9:15 into the second period for a 1-0 lead. Talbot stopped a wraparound by Mikko Koivu and the puck slid to Zack Kassian, who carried the puck into the offensive zone and sent a cross-ice pass to Nugent-Hopkins, who one-timed a shot past Stalock.
"Anytime you get one of your core players or key players back, regardless of position, but maybe even more important in [goal], it's calming influence," Edmonton coach Todd McLellan said. "I felt our team didn't panic tonight. They had a good feeling with Cam back in the pipes."
Dumba tied the game at 1-1 with a slap shot from the point on a pass from Mikael Granlund at 13:18.

Lucic took advantage of a loose puck for a 2-1 lead after Leon Draisaitl poked the puck free and Lucic quickly shot past Stalock at 16:37.
Lucic passed to Puljujarvi for a one-timer for a 3-2 lead at 8:32 of the third period.
"It's big to have him step up since he's been called up and it's just a matter of finding your consistency as a player, as a young player day-in and day-out," Lucic said of Puljujarvi, who has six goals and eight points in 16 games since being recalled from Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on November 10.
Dumba scored with 5:00 remaining to get the Wild within 3-2.
"I think I've always kind of had that," Dumba said. "Fortunate enough to get some good looks tonight."
Stalock was making his second start since Devan Dubnyk sustained a lower-body injury that has him sidelined week to week.

Goal of the game

Puljujarvi's game-winner at 8:32 of the third period.

Save of the game

Talbot's save on Granlund with 1:45 remaining in the first period.

Highlight of the game

Talbot's save on Koivu's redirection with 10:13 left in the second period.

They said it

"I'm sure he's frustrated. He's a guy that, A, has a lot of pride; and B, is a really good player. The one thing about Mikko is even if he's not scoring, he's defending and competing really hard. So, I mean we all want to see him succeed in scoring, and I think at this time last year he had six goals, so it's not an overly big difference. I know it's wearing on him." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau on Mikko Koivu's goalless drought reaching 23 games
"Those two rolling pucks to the middle, they're tough to read coming off his stick. He does have a good one-timer when he gets it off. Those are just laying to him right in the middle of the slot there. But hard to read that off his tape when they're wobbling like that. Give him credit for being able to shoot those two." -- Oilers goalie Cam Talbot on Matt Dumba's two goals

Need to know

Stalock was credited with a shot on goal 1:35 into the third period, the first by a goaltender in Wild history. … Stalock's shutout streak ended at 115:09 when Nugent-Hopkins scored. ... Edmonton is 9-7-2 on the road this season; it is 5-10-0 at home. … The Oilers have scored an NHL-leading six shorthanded goals. ... Minnesota reassigned defenseman Ryan Murphy to Iowa of the American Hockey League after the game, and Boudreau said there's a possibility defenseman Jared Spurgeon could play Sunday after missing nine games with a groin strain.

What's next

Oilers: Host the San Jose Sharks on Monday (9 p.m. ET; SNW, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)
Wild:At the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, FS-N, NHL.TV)