Let’s hope this isn’t the start of another streak for the Wild.
After the Oilers snapped a seven-game losing skid against the Wild in Edmonton on Friday, Minnesota bounced back with a win of their own on home ice on Monday to split the home-and-home series.
Matt Boldy scored on the power play to open the scoring and had a nifty assist on Frederick Gaudreau’s game-winning goal. Meanwhile, Edmonton’s only goal came when Zach Hyman lit the lamp with the man advantage in the first period.
Stuart Skinner put forward another strong start, as he stopped 28 of 30 shots that the Wild threw his way, but Minnesota completely clamped down defensively. The Oilers were held to a season-low 21 shots on goal and they only managed four high-danger scoring chances at even strength, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Edmonton won’t have much time to think about that game as they hit the road on Monday night for Nashville. The Predators will also be playing on little rest as they lost by a score of 1-0 in St. Louis to the Blues on Monday night.

THE DAY AFTER IS PRESENTED BY BETWAY

Thoughts…

  • That was a whole lot of the Minnesota Wild in a short period of time and I think everyone around here will breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the Oilers won’t face them again in the regular season. The Wild are a difficult opponent for the Oilers because they can play a tight-checking style that completely sucks any space for creativity out of the game. Minnesota played like a team badly in need of a win on Monday night and they earned it.
  • Just as the Oilers lost to a team they often struggle with, they’ll now have a chance to rebound against a team they often do well against. The Oilers beat the Nashville Predators by a score of 7-4 back in November, their most commanding win other than the 8-2 pounding of an Arizona Coyotes team at the end of a month-long road trip. Edmonton beat Nashville in all three of their meetings last season and all three of their meetings in 2019-20 as well. The last time the Predators beat the Oilers was all the way back in February of 2019, a game in which Brian Boyle scored the shootout winner for Nashville.
  • This game will also surely be Jack Campbell’s return to the net. Stuart Skinner started Edmonton’s last five games and stopped 133 of 142 shots. Campbell’s last outing came back on December 1, a 5-3 loss to the Wild in which he allowed five goals on 30 shots.