The Edmonton Oilers are looking to wrap up their five-game road trip on a high note, but their last stop happens to be in Minnesota for a rematch against the red-hot Wild. Winners of their last six games, the Wild were already playing well before they went out and got Quinn Hughes, but they’re also a club dealing with some injuries. Can the boys take advantage? Can they overcome their own injury woes? We shall see.

I know this has nothing to do with anything, but if I had one regret to share with you, it would be that I shouldn’t have gotten after it as hard at the Nation Christmas party as I did last night. I knew there was a 1 PM game today and that I would have to write the GDB for it, but I still managed to party with my co-workers until way past my bedtime. It was a mistake, and as I sit here at my desk trying to put this together, it felt like the only thing to do was confess my poor life choices and humble myself before you, the reader, in hopes of forgiveness. I’m still going to give it my all here, but I fully acknowledge that my brain isn’t firing on all cylinders.

With holiday party season in full swing, we’re getting to that point in the year where time doesn’t matter and no one even knows what day it is. That “what day is it” mentality between now and the new year makes for an interesting challenge when you still have to wear your adult pants and get things ready for the website despite a long night of poor decisions. The good news is that I’m a professional, and this isn’t my first rodeo playing at less than 100%. If I can make it through a few more workdays before the break, I know our beloved Oilers can get through what’s left of their road trip. We are all athletes, after all.

Of course, the Oilers are wrapping up their five-game road trip with a significant challenge. The Minnesota Wild have been Edmonton’s kryptonite over the years, and with the addition of Quinn Hughes to their blue line, what was already a tough out just got even tougher. Even though no one had Minnesota on their radar, Bill Guerin went out and pulled off a blockbuster trade that puts his team into the mix as a potential contender out of the West. I don’t know how close that trade puts them to Colorado and Dallas, but you’d have to think it moves them a few steps closer than they were a month ago.

My point here is that if our boys are going to make it to a third consecutive Stanley Cup Final, there’s a more-than-zero chance the Wild may be a hurdle to clear along the way. If that does end up being the case, wouldn’t it be nice to figure out how to beat them now? I think so. In the first matchup of the season, Jesper Wallstedt shut the Oilers out in a 1-0 victory at Rogers Place, which was the sports equivalent of getting a handful of sand thrown in your eyes after the team failed to draft him back in 2021. The Oilers didn’t lose that game because they played poorly, but it was one of those Ls that stung just a little bit more because of the history.

Since then, both teams have been playing some pretty solid hockey, and the numbers paint an interesting picture heading into this rematch. Over the last two weeks, Edmonton is scoring more, their power play continues to rip at an unholy pace, and they’re driving play at five-on-five far more than they were a month ago. Minnesota, on the other hand, has been stingier defensively, is getting great goaltending, and comes into this afternoon’s game riding a six-game heater. Basically, what we’ve got are two teams with the same record over their last 10 games, both making life miserable for their opponents, and meeting at a point in the schedule where today’s game feels a little bit more meaningful.

The Oilers’ path to their first three-game winning streak is pretty straightforward. Take care of the puck, don’t give Minnesota anything they won’t generate themselves, and they’re going to be okay. At five-on-five, Edmonton has quietly been the better possession team at even strength, carrying a slight edge in both Corsi and expected goals, and they’re generating more offence overall. The issue, as we all know, is keeping the puck out of their own net. They’re getting better on the defensive side of their game, but there’s still work to be done. Minnesota is giving up 2.51 goals against per game compared to Edmonton’s 3.40, and that’s a pretty wide gap in a game of inches.

Zooming out, this afternoon’s game matters for more than just getting out of Minnesota with two points. This is the fifth and final stop on another long road trip, the first half of a back-to-back, and another chance for the Oilers to finally put together their first three-game winning streak of the season. Get the job done this afternoon, and suddenly Sunday night against Vegas feels like an opportunity to gain ground rather than a need to salvage the weekend. But before we can even think about tomorrow, let’s see if our boys can wrap up their road trip with another win.

Let’s see what the numbers say…

Nugent-Hopkins – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Savoie
Frederic – Henrique – Janmark
Mangiapane – Lazar – Tomasek

Ekholm – Bouchard
Nurse – Regula
Stastney – Emberson

Pickard

With the game happening so early in the afternoon, we’re probably going to have to wait until warm-ups for the line combos to come out, but the big story of the day is that Calvin Pickard will be making the start in net. We still don’t know the timeline for Tristan Jarry’s injury, but with two games on deck this weekend, the Oilers will be getting a healthy stress test of their goaltending depth.

Kaprisov – Eriksson Ek – Boldy
Trenin – Yurov – Tarasenko
Foligno – Hartman – Aube-Kubel
Jones – Sturm – Pitlick

Hughes – Faber
Kiersted – Spurgeon
Lambos – Jiricek

Gustavsson

The Wild have won six consecutive games, which is the longest active streak in the NHL, and all six wins have come in regulation. This run is the team’s second-longest win streak of the season (seven GP, 11/15 – 11/29), and offers a serious measuring stick moment for our boys. Even with a handful of players either out of the lineup or questionable to play today, there’s no doubt the visitors will need to bring their best if they’re going to lock down two points.

Game Day Prediction: The Wild score first, but the Oilers take control from there, extending their win streak with a 4-2 finish.

Obvious Game Day Prediction: We’re going to have to hear about Jesper Wallstedt multiple times on the broadcast, even though he’s not scheduled to play.

Not-So-Obvious Game Day Prediction: Leon Draisaitl hasn’t scored in six games despite collecting assists like mad. Leon gets back in the goal column today.