The Edmonton Oilers touched down in St. Paul for the fifth and final game of their road trip, squaring off against the Minnesota Wild for the first time since they acquired Quinn Hughes from Vancouver. And with the Wild coming into Saturday’s game riding a six-game winning streak, wrestling two points away from them was going to take a whole lot of effort and even better execution. Unfortunately, the Wild ended up with the advantage in execution, and it left the Oilers chasing for the entire game, outside of the rare moments when the game was tied. Oilers fall 5-2 in Minnesota.

With Tristan Jarry’s injury status still unknown and Connor Ingram recalled to fill the void, Calvin Pickard could be in line for a run of starts between the pipes that either makes or breaks his future with the organization. With Ingram up with the big club, it’s hard not to think that these two will be in direct competition for the same gig once Jarry can return, whenever that may be. Maybe I’m making more of the situation than is really happening behind the scenes, but I also don’t think it’s unrealistic to suggest the backup role is a spot Stan Bowman could still be looking to upgrade. But if this stretch of Jarry-less games is a test, Pickard had a tough task on his hands with the red-hot Minnesota Wild.

As expected, the Wild wasted no time getting after it in the offensive end, and I felt bad for Pickard that one of the first shots he faced was a clear cut breakaway for Matt Boldy. Same goes for the second goal Boldy scored on the power play, which was an absolute blast of a shot from the boards. Would you want Pickard to save that? Sure. But I wouldn’t call it a bad goal either. For the third goal by Hartman, my eyes are looking at the pinch by Riley Stillman that left the Wild to go into the zone with all kinds of space to close out the 2-on-1 chance. My point here is that the numbers aren’t spotless — 32 saves, four goals against, and a .889 save percentage — but there were bigger holes in the Oilers’ game that led to goals more so than what Pickard did or didn’t do in net. If anything, it sure would be nice if the skaters in front of the crease could do a little more to help him out.

I don’t think I’m talking out of school when I say Andrew Mangiapane’s first season as an Oiler hasn’t exactly gone the smoothest for him. After roaring out of the gates with a few goals in the first handful of games, the Bread Man’s offence has gone ice cold ever since. To make matters worse, his offensive struggles were paired with getting handily outscored at the other end. I may not be the smartest guy, but even I can figure out that’s a tough combo. Numbers or eyeballs, our man was fighting it. As a result, we’ve seen Mangiapane bop all over the lineup over the last month and a half, as Kris Knoblauch continues to search for a combination to unlock his potential. I don’t think any of us expected Mangiapane to be the 35-goal guy he was in his last year as a Flame, but that doesn’t mean anyone was cool with four goals through the first 35 games.

The good news is that Mangiapane has been playing better over the last few games and looks to be more of a factor on a shift-by-shift basis than he has been for most of the year. There’s still plenty of work to do, but the baby steps forward are notable. That’s why I was pumped to see Mangiapane get on the board with his fifth goal of the season and first in 22 games on the back of a perfectly executed deflection on Evan Bouchard’s shot/pass from the point. You could almost see the 1000-pound weight lift off his shoulders. Like I said, there’s still plenty of room for improvement if Mangiapane is going to turn the tide on his season, but I’m also hopeful that scoring his first goal in more than a month can help relieve some of the pressure. I’d imagine he’s being as hard on himself as anyone, and maybe a goal can be a dose of confidence to keep moving forward.

Is anyone else having a hard time ignoring the trend we’re seeing when the Oilers match up against the big dog teams in the Western Conference? By my count, Edmonton hasn’t won a game all season against Colorado (only one game so far), Dallas, or Minnesota. I don’t know how the Central Division is going to shake out with all three of those teams dismantling the rest of the league like it’s intramural sports, but the Oilers would have to get through at least one of them if they plan to get back to the Stanley Cup Final, and the early results haven’t been great. I know regular season records don’t matter much when the playoffs roll around, but knowing you stack up well against the best in the conference before getting there would be nice.

That’s why losing against the Wild makes Sunday’s matchup with the Golden Knights feel a bit more important, even though we still haven’t reached the midway point of the 2025-26 season.  The Oilers are nipping at Vegas’ heels in the standings, and missing out on two points in Minnesota obviously opens the door for them to widen the gap. The Golden Knights face off in Calgary in the late slot on Hockey Night in Canada, and a win there would put them four points up on Edmonton ahead of their first meeting of the year. I’m not saying four points is an insurmountable problem, but it would have been a whole lot cooler had they been tied before tonight’s game in Calgary had even started.

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