If the Edmonton Oilers were hoping to close their road trip with a statement, the Minnesota Wild had other plans — and they delivered them with ruthless timing.
In a game that swung wildly between momentum, frustration, and what-ifs, the Minnesota Wild outlasted the Edmonton Oilers 5–2 on Saturday afternoon at Grand Casino Arena, riding a blistering first period, airtight goaltending, and a controversial-but-clutch third-period insurance goal to extend their winning streak to seven games. Edmonton, meanwhile, left Minnesota with effort, moral victories, and zero points — the least satisfying souvenir possible.
This one wasted absolutely no time getting unhinged.
Minnesota came out flying like a team that smelled blood early, and Matt Boldy played the role of chaos agent-in-chief. Just 3:42 into the game, Boldy turned a loose puck into a breakaway and slipped a backhand past Calvin Pickard to open the scoring. It was clean, fast, and ominous.
Things escalated quickly.
A Leon Draisaitl double minor — cross-checking followed by unsportsmanlike conduct for letting the ref hear about it — gave the Wild a four-minute runway, and Boldy cashed again. His one-timer from the right circle doubled the lead and had Edmonton wobbling like they’d just taken a heavyweight combo.
At 2–0, the game looked like it might spiral. Instead, the Oilers punched back.
Andrew Mangiapane, snakebitten since early November, finally exorcised a 21-game goal drought with a deft deflection off an Evan Bouchard shot-pass. The relief was obvious. The bench popped. Edmonton suddenly had life.
Then came the inevitable.
On the power play, Connor McDavid found himself alone at the edge of the crease, staring down a loose puck like it personally insulted him. He tapped it home for his 22nd goal of the season, tying the game at 2–2 and reminding everyone that, yes, he still does this stuff nightly.
The Oilers had clawed all the way back — and then promptly ripped the bandage off themselves.
With eight seconds left in the period, Minnesota converted one final rush into a Ryan Hartman redirection goal that sucked the air out of Edmonton’s comeback. One lapse. One missed assignment. One brutal reminder that hockey punishes you hardest when you think the horn is coming.
3–2 Wild after 20. Absolute chaos.
After five goals in the opening frame, the second period went full lockdown mode.
The pace slowed. Chances were fewer but sharper. Pickard, who quietly gave Edmonton a chance all afternoon, came up with several timely saves — including a crucial blocker stop on Joel Eriksson Ek during a Minnesota odd-man rush.
Edmonton had looks. Bouchard rang iron on the power play. Scrambles developed in front of Filip Gustavsson. The puck just wouldn’t cooperate.
Through 40 minutes, it still felt like a one-shot game. But the margin for error? Basically zero.
The defining play came nine minutes into the third — and it will be debated in Edmonton bars for a while.
Minnesota entered the zone on a rush that looked offside in real time, then somehow stayed legal by a hair on replay. Seconds later, Vladimir Tarasenko buried a rebound after Yakov Trenin’s shot clanged off the post. The goal stood. Edmonton considered a challenge. The bench thought better of it.
4–2 Wild.
From there, the air slowly leaked out of the Oilers’ push. They had chances — Draisaitl ripped a one-timer that Gustavsson swallowed, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins missed a golden look — but Minnesota never panicked. They clogged lanes, won board battles, and waited.
With Pickard pulled late, Nico Sturm sealed it with an empty-netter, capping a night where Minnesota did exactly what hot teams do: capitalize on mistakes and refuse to give anything back.
Connor McDavid extended his point streak to nine games, piling up 11 goals and 12 assists over that stretch. The problem? Even a supernova can’t erase defensive lapses and untimely goals against.
Leon Draisaitl quietly chipped in two assists, pushing his own mini-streak to three games, while Evan Bouchard continued his habit of tormenting Minnesota with another helper.
Mangiapane finally breaking through was a feel-good subplot — just not one that ended happily.
For Minnesota, Boldy’s two-goal first period set the tone, while Tarasenko’s third-period dagger did the real damage. Gustavsson didn’t need to be spectacular — just solid — and he was exactly that.
Edmonton finishes its five-game road trip at 3–2–0 — respectable on paper, frustrating in reality. The Oilers played well enough to win both games against Minnesota and came away empty-handed. That’s the kind of stretch that doesn’t break a season, but it definitely tests your patience.
The good news? There’s no time to sulk.
Edmonton heads home to face the Vegas Golden Knights in a divisional back-to-back that will feel very personal, very loud, and very unforgiving. If Saturday was about missed details, Sunday will be about response.
Minnesota, meanwhile, looks like a team that’s figured something out. Seven straight wins don’t happen by accident. They’re fast, opportunistic, and — most importantly — ruthless when the window opens.
The Oilers didn’t get outplayed. They got out-timed.
Minnesota struck when it mattered, Edmonton blinked when it couldn’t afford to, and the standings don’t care how close it felt. In the NHL, moral victories don’t travel well — and Saturday was proof that even when Connor McDavid does Connor McDavid things, the margins are still razor thin.
Next game’s coming fast. Edmonton better be ready.
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