Game Recap: Oilers 4, Wild 3

EDMONTON, AB -- The Minnesota Wild fell to the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3, on Friday night at Rogers Place. The Oilers earned their sixth consecutive win as the Wild was unable to snap the streak. Forwards Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Connor Dewar scored for Minnesota, while goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made a season-high 36 saves.

Minnesota moves to 9-12-4 (22 points) after the loss while Edmonton improves to 11-12-1 (23 points).

First Period

With his first shift in tonight's game, Oilers' F Mattias Janmark skated in his 500th NHL game on his 31st birthday. 

The Wild got the first special teams advantage of the night after D Darnell Nurse was whistled for hooking F Marcus Johansson at 7:36, but the PP was unsuccessful. 

After a series of blocked shots by the Wild goaltender and defensemen, the Oilers struck first at 15:15. Beating Fleury glove-side, D Evan Bouchard snapped one top shelf to make it a 1-0 game. He was assisted on the goal by F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and F Connor McDavid. Bouchard now has points in 10 consecutive games. 

Shortly thereafter, Edmonton was given a power play opportunity when D Jon Merrill was sent to the box for holding at 16:33. Despite several shots on goal, the Oiler PP moved to 0/1. 

After one period of play Edmonton led 1-0 and edged Minnesota 17-4 in SOG.

Second Period

It took all of 15 seconds for Boldy to tie the game at one goal apiece. After a flurry in front of the net, Boldy beat G Stuart Skinner for his sixth goal of the season. He was assisted on the goal by D Brock Faber and Johansson.

No less than 40 seconds later, Eriksson Ek pulled the Wild ahead 2-1 with his team-leading 13th goal of the season. Boldy recorded his second point of the night (1-1=2) with a helper on the play and Johansson tallied his second assist of the game and his 300th NHL assist.

Another 40 seconds later, McDavid evened the score yet again with a patient move around Fleury. Nugent-Hopkins (0-2=2) and Bouchard (1-1=2) assisted McDavid on the play, 2-2.

At 11:52, Dewar regained the lead for Minnesota, beating Skinner with a quick in-and-out shot in front of the crease, 3-2. He was assisted by F Ryan Hartman and Faber, who notched his second point of the night (0-2=2) and his second multi-point game of the season.

Edmonton got its third power play chance when F Mats Zuccarello held the stick of F Derek Ryan at 17:35. F Leon Draisaitl capitalized and tied the game again with a PPG at 18:30. Nugent-Hopkins (0-3=3) and McDavid (1-1=2) assisted on the goal.

The second period ended in a 3-3 tie with Edmonton outshooting Minnesota 32-12.

Third Period

D Jonas Brodin left the ice less than a minute into the period after being hit into the boards by F Evander Kane. Hartman was sent to the box for roughing Kane the following play.

Bouchard notched his third point of the night (2-1=3) with a PPG to give the Oilers a 4-3 lead early in the period. He was assisted by Draisaitl (1-1=2) and Nugent-Hopkins (0-4=4).

Minnesota returned to the power play when F Zach Hyman tripped D Jake Middleton at 3:53. Minnesota got three shots on goal before Edmonton killed off the penalty.

Boldy was called for tripping at 13:33 and the Oilers had their fourth PP of the night. The Wild PK unit allowed only one SOG.

Fleury made his way to the bench and the Wild had an empty net with 1:47 left in the game. There was no score for either team during the 6-on-5 and Edmonton won the game, 4-3. 

Minnesota's PP went 0-2 while Edmonton's went 2-4. 

The Oilers outshot the Wild 40-20.

What Else?

• Boldy has now scored five goals in six games played since November 28th, tied for most in the NHL during that span.
• With Boldy's and Eriksson Ek's goals within the first 41 seconds of the second period tonight, it marked the second-fastest two goals to start a period in franchise history behind a 34 second span to begin the third frame on Jan. 14, 2022 vs. Anaheim.
• With a goal and an assist in the second period, Eriksson Ek notched his sixth multi-point game of the season, tied for first on the team with Zuccarello and F Kirill Kaprizov.
• Dewar's sixth goal of the season matches his single-season career high, matching his six-goal total set last season (81 games played).

What'd They Say?

"I really liked the compete and the battle that we had ... Unfortunately, it didn't go our way tonight." - Head Coach John Hynes on the team's performance

"Hopefully it's nothing too serious. He's a big part of our team, of our defense, he does it all so hopefully it's not too bad." - Fleury on the injury of Brodin

"Since Hynes has been here we've been great, we've been a really good team. We battled tonight and we fell one short." - Hartman on the team's effort recently

"It's nice when things are going well. Obviously we wished to get another one there. Ekky does it all. He's our most valuable player every night. It's 'no nights off' for that guy." - Boldy on Eriksson Ek and their on-ice chemistry

What's Next?

The Wild end the four-game road trip with a matchup at Seattle on Sunday night. The Kraken (8-13-6) will play host to the Wild at Climate Pledge Arena at 8:00 p.m. CT after hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning the night before.