Oilers close out five-game road trip with loss to Wild: Recap, Reaction, and Highlights
Once again, the Edmonton Oilers came up short in their bid for their first three-game win streak this season.On Saturday afternoon, the Oilers played the final game in their five-game road trip, falling 5-2 to the Minnesota Wild. Let’s take a look at what happened in this one.
Matt Boldy kicked off what became a wild first period just under four minutes into the opening frame, as he stole the puck off Mattias Ekholm for a breakaway. Calvin Pickard was a bit too far out of his crease, as Boldy pulled the puck to his backhand for the goal.
Matt Boldy steals the puck and tucks it in to give the Wild a 1-0 lead.
📹: Sportsnet
Leon Draisaitl got a cross-checking penalty, then argued with the ref to get an unsportsmanlike penalty, giving the Wild a four-minute power play. About a minute into the power play midway through the first period, Boldy scored his second of the game as he one-timed it past Pickard to make it 2-0.
Matt Boldy fires it past Calvin Pickard, 2-0 Wild.
📹: Sportsnet
Just over six minutes left in the first period, the Oilers cut the lead in half. Evan Bouchard wristed it toward the net while Andrew Mangiapane was cutting to the front. Thankfully, Mangiapane got off the schneid with a nice deflection to make it 2-1.
MANGIAPANE IS OFF THE SCHNEID!
The Oilers cut the Wild’s lead in half!
📹: Sportsnet
In the final two minutes of the first period, the Oilers had a power play of their own. There was a mad scramble in front of the Wild netminder, and the puck squeaked out to Connor McDavid. It was one of the easier goals the best player of all time will score.
Well, it was a tie game; however, here’s the Oilers’ second of the game.
📹: Sportsnet
With six seconds left in the first period, the Wild made a nice give-and-go play at the Oilers line, with Ryan Hartman being left all alone in front of Calvin Pickard. Once he received the puck back, he tapped it past the Oilers’ netminder to give the Wild a 3-2 lead heading into the second period. This turned out to be the game-winner.
Hartman gives the Minnesota Wild a 3-2 lead late in the first period.
📹: Sportsnet
Although the second period had a ton of action, the period remained scoreless. Midway through the third, Evan Bouchard mishandled a flipped puck, allowing Vladimir Tarasenko to get a shot off in the slot. Pickard saved it, but the Wild were first to the puck, and even though Pickard got a large chunk of the second shot, the puck rolled to the post. Again, the Wild were the first to it, with Tarasenko tapping it in to make it 4-2. An empty net goal late in the game put any doubt away.
The goal stands, and the Minnesota Wild extend their lead against the Oilers to 4-2.
📹: Sportsnet
Takeaways…
It’s two steps forward and one step backward for the Oilers. They’re still looking for their first three-game win streak this season, but the good news is that they’ve had three opportunities to get that win streak in December. Since their three-game losing streak during the seven-game road trip, the Oilers are 8-4-1.
Connor McDavid scored his 22nd second goal of the season, moving him into a tie for third in league scoring. With the point, he matches Nathan MacKinnon with a league-leading 59 points, while also extending his point streak to 10 games. It’s the best he’s looked in the regular season in a few years now.
Leon Draisaitl failed to pick up a goal in this game, as he’s now gone seven consecutive games without scoring a goal. It’s been a long time since he’s been held off the scoresheet in this stat, as his longest drought (eight games) was snapped in Mar. 2021. He picked up two assists in this game, giving him 13 assists in those seven games.
The German’s first assist came on Andrew Mangiapane’s first goal since Nov. 3. He’s been playing a lot better lately, so it’s good to see him finally get one. Hopefully, Mangiapane can give the Oilers some more bottom six scoring when everyone returns to full health.
With Staurt Skinner traded and Tristan Jarry out with an injury, Calvin Pickard made the start. While he allowed four goals, he faced 36 shots, giving him an .889 save percentage. Two goals came on breakaways, one on a one-timer, and the other one probably should’ve been stopped. Filip Gustavsson made some massive stops toward the end of the game for the Wild.
Thankfully, the Oilers’ five-game road trip will come to an end, and they’ll immediately get a chance to get the win back, as they have an important matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. Depending on what happens in the Golden Knights’ game tonight, a win tomorrow could push the Oilers into a tie with the team they beat in the semifinals last season. It’s worth noting that the Oilers are 0-3-3 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Oilersnation, FlamesNation, and Blue Jays Nation. Follow her on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
ARTICLE PRESENTED BY bet365