EDMONTON, Alberta – Two of the best teams in the Western Conference will square off on Tuesday night, but their situations aren't similar.
Wild begins road trip with Western Conference showdown vs. Oilers
The Wild has won six in a row, while the Oilers have lost their last two games.
December 7, 2021 at 8:02PM
While the Wild is cruising, on a season-long six-game win streak, the Oilers have stumbled lately and have lost two in a row ahead of hosting the Wild at Rogers Place in the first meeting of the season between these two conference rivals.
"It's certainly nice on the road when you come into buildings like this that have clearly special players that we feel comfortable not flipping guys on and off the ice trying to get a matchup," coach Dean Evason said, referring to the NHL's top two point-getters in Edmonton's Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. "Clearly, we'd like to have our special people against their special people. But sometimes you're not going to get it. So, everybody has to play the same way hopefully in all areas of the game not just defensively but through the neutral zone and offensively as well."
The Wild woNHL conference standingsn't make any lineup changes from the team's 4-3 shootout win on Saturday at home against Toronto.
That means goalie Cam Talbot will be back in net to kick off this four-game road trip, and captain Jared Spurgeon remains out with a lower-body injury.
On Saturday, the Maple Leafs erased a three-goal deficit in the second period and two goals came on the power play. With the Oilers boasting the NHL's best power play, the message Tuesday morning to Wild players was to stay out of the penalty box.
"It's a given," Evason said. "We all know the special people they have on their hockey club, and we give them continual opportunities not only to score on the power play but get confidence and touches, it's not in favor of us."
Projected lineup:
Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson Ek-Marcus Foligno
Kirill Kaprizov-Ryan Hartman-Mats Zuccarello
Rem Pitlick-Victor Rask-Kevin Fiala
Brandon Duhaime-Nico Sturm-Nick Bjugstad
Jonas Brodin-Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill-Alex Goligoski
Jordie Benn-Dmitry Kulikov
Cam Talbot
Key numbers:
4-2-1: Record for the Wild over its last seven road games.
6: Goals from Ryan Hartman in his past nine contests.
11: Points by Kirill Kaprizov during a season-long five-game point streak.
18-7-1: Run by the Wild over the team's last 26 games vs. the Oilers.
298: Career assists for winger Mats Zuccarello.
About the Oilers:
Edmonton has dropped two straight games for the first time this season. McDavid didn't factor into the Oilers' offense on Sunday in a 5-1 loss to the Kings, just the third game this season he's been held pointless. Still, McDavid ranks second in NHL scoring with 42 points. Draisaitl is first with 43 points. The Oilers, sitting in third, are three points behind the first-place Wild in the Western Conference.
The Wild are off to one of the best starts in franchise history, and Kirill Kaprizov is tied for the NHL scoring lead.
