The Oilers face the Wild for the first time since beating them 7-1 on December 12th.
The Oilers face the Wild for the first time since beating them 7-1 on December 12th.
Something about facing the Minnesota Wild agrees with the Oilers.
They're just 1-1 against them this season, but both games have been important in the story of their season so far. Their first matchup, a 5-3 loss on November 21st, was the last game before the Oilers got hot and erased their slow start. That hot streak includes a 7-1 thrashing of the Wild on December 12th that marked the beginning of Minnesota's decline.
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The two teams have gone in opposite directions since that game. The Oilers, already on a roll when they blew Minnesota out in December, have been the best team in the league since that win, with an 11-3-1 record. The Wild, meanwhile, have gone 8-8-0 since December 12th, ravaged by injuries.
The Wild's injury report doubles as a list of their most important players. Missing from the lineup are Kirill Kaprizov (last played Dec. 23), Jared Spurgeon (Dec. 31), Jonas Brodin (day-to-day, Jan. 7), and Brock Faber (day-to-day, Jan. 7). For those of you keeping track at home, that's a Hart Trophy candidate and the team's top three defencemen, three of the best defensive players in the NHL.
Any team would struggle without their best forward and three best defencemen, the Wild especially. Kaprizov has singlehandedly made the Wild relevant since his arrival in the NHL, while Spurgeon, Brodin, and Faber are the backbone of the team's identity.
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Their absence is exacerbated by the struggles of Filip Gustavsson in net. From the start of the season to the eve of their second game against Edmonton, Gustavsson's .927 save percentage was tied for second-best among all starting goalies. Since allowing five goals on 26 shots to the Oilers, his save percentage has dipped to .893.
That's not to say the Oilers should take Minnesota lightly. Even with their recent dip, the Wild, thanks to their great start, have a one-point advantage over the Oilers in the standings. Not to mention that that dip still works out to a .500 record over the past month or so. Even a diminished Wild squad can give the Oilers fits.
The Oilers are heading into a tough couple of days, facing the Wild and the Colorado Avalanche on the road on back-to-back nights. Given that Avs-Oilers almost always devolves into a track meet, Edmonton will surely be trying to dispatch the Wild without much of a fuss tonight. After their last matchup, the Wild will do everything in their power to keep that from happening.
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