Talbot makes 35 saves, Oilers end losing streak with win against Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Edmonton Oilers avoided a seventh straight loss with a 4-1 win against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

Cam Talbot made 35 saves, Zack Kassian had a goal and an assist, and Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had two assists for Edmonton (24-25-5).
"This feels really good," Talbot said. "From a team perspective, for myself, all the way out. This was a big team win. We needed this one. This is a tough building to play in. The Wild] usually come out pretty hot. Our start was great tonight. We got all over them early, and we did the little things we needed to do to win the hockey game down the stretch."
***[WATCH: [All Oilers vs. Wild highlights]*
Joel Eriksson Ek scored for the Wild (26-23-5), who have lost four games in a row (0-2-2). Devan Dubnyk made 19 saves.
Darnell Nurse one-timed a pass from McDavid to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 2:15 of the first period. McDavid has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in a six-game point streak.

"It definitely [stinks] to get down by a goal, and it just seems like it's always early," Wild forward Marcus Foligno said. "It really takes the wind out of your sail when it's five minutes into the period and it's a goal that goes in.
"But at the end of the day, you have to be tough in this league and you have to be able to battle through adversity. One goal with a lot of time left shouldn't put you in that kind of slump, hang your shoulders and say, 'Here we go again.' We have to be able to battle through it, and we have to be a little more tough mentally."
Ty Rattie made it 2-0 at 4:32 of the second when he tapped in a pass from Nugent-Hopkins in the slot.
"I think we're a confident group in here and we know what we're capable of," Rattie said. "The past is in the past, we've kind of forgot about it, though we talked about it. We improved on it and we played a full 60 minutes tonight."
Eriksson Ek scored off a pass from Jason Zucker from below the right hash marks to make it 2-1 at 2:50 of the third period.
Draisaitl gave the Oilers a 3-1 lead at 5:35 off a centering pass from Alex Chiasson on the power play, and Kassian scored into an empty net at 18:40 for the 4-1 final.

They said it

"[Goalie Cam Talbot was] solid again. This is every night he gives us a chance to win. I thought the guys played hard for him and he played hard for them. He's got a little bit of confidence going right now, so that's a good sign." -- Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock
"If a bounce goes your way, maybe it's different. But we've got to stop hoping for bounces. It's kind of on repeat lately where we're thinking about getting second chances. We've got to do a better job in front. We've got to shoot the puck a little bit more and a little bit meaner when we do it. It's just something we can want bounces all you want, but bounces aren't good unless you put them in." -- Wild forward Marcus Foligno
"This was sort of the last straw. Everybody now has caught us (in the standings) or is within a point, so it's either find your sense of urgency and do what you have to do to win, or bad things are going to happen. If you look at our schedule starting at the end of the month, this is the time that you have to be successful." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau

Need to know

McDavid has 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists) in the past 19 games. ... Draisaitl has 10 points (eight goals, two assists) in the past six games. ... Nugent-Hopkins has 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in the past 10 games. ... Zucker's assist was his 200th NHL point. ... Wild forward Mikael Granlund's four-game assist streak ended (five assists).

What's next

Oilers: Host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN, SN360, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)
Wild:At the New Jersey Devils on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; MSG, FS-N, FS-WI, NHL.TV)