Oilers Gameday – @ Wild

The Oilers kickoff a four game road trip tonight in their house of horrors in Minnesota for the third and final meeting against the Wild. Minnesota won the first two meetings, including a 3-0 decision at Rexall Place less than two weeks ago. The Oilers last win in Minnesota came last April.

The Oilers come in following a tough 4-2 loss to the Kings in which the team surrendered fifty shots on goal, the second time that has occurred this season to Edmonton. The Oilers used their second post-deadline recall on defender Oscar Klefbom, who well get his first NHL game tonight. The team will see a nearly identical lineup to the one that played against LA on Sunday night.

The Wild made a splash at last week’s deadline, bringing in forward Matt Moulson from Buffalo, and goalie Ilya Bryzgalov from Edmonton. The Wild have recently got Mikko Koivu back in the lineup, and are finally starting to come around as a healthy unit and are starting to really click. With a strong push to finish the year, there is little doubt the Wild will push themselves into the playoffs for the second consecutive season, and could be primed to do some damage.

Viktor Fasth will make his Oilers debut tonight, while the Wild will likely turn to Ilya Bryzgalov to face his former team.

Keys To The Game:

Edmonton: COMPETE!!!! This is the second time in the last week I have had to say this, and that is sad within it’s own right. The Oilers showed minimal compete and were bulldozed in their loss to the Kings. Tonight, Edmonton needs to come out with urgency and bring it from the first drop of the puck if they want a chance here. The Wild are going to be desperate, and Edmonton must be ready.

Minnesota: For the Wild, they need to play their game, stay within their system. The Oilers struggle mightily against good defensive teams, which is exactly what the Wild are. The Wild have owned the Oilers for years, and Minnesota’s defense first style is a big reason. If they play that way tonight, there’s no debate they come out with the two points.

Players To Watch:

Edmonton: Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is in quite the slump right now, but he’s been getting chances recently. Nuge hasn’t exactly had a ton of success against the Wild in his career, but one has the feeling he is overdue for a goal and waiting to break out. He’s looked decent this last week, and I’ll suggest he gets one tonight.

Minnesota: Wild forward Matt Moulson joined the team at last Wednesday’s deadline, and has already started producing for the team. Moulson already has a goal, and seems to be rejuvenated with the move to a playoff contender in the Wild. Edmonton struggles stopping goal scorers, and that is exactly what Moulson is. I suspect he finds the net tonight.

Gameday Prediction:

The Wild are desperate for two points as they look to add to their playoff cushion, while Edmonton is just going through the motions trying to get to the golf course. The Oilers never seem to win in Minnesota, and the Wild play the style Edmonton struggles against. Add it all together, and it really does not look good for the Oilers. That said, I suspect Fasth impresses and keeps it close, but the Wild prevail 3-2 in the shootout.

The Lines:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

Taylor Hall – Sam Gagner – Nail Yakupov

David Perron – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle

Matt Hendricks – Boyd Gordon – Jesse Joensuu

Luke Gazdic – Ryan Smyth – Ryan Jones

Andrew Ference – Justin Schultz

Martin Marincin – Jeff Petry

Oscar Klefbom – Mark Fraser

Viktor Fasth

Minnesota Wild Lines:

Zach Parise – Mikael Grandlund – Jason Pominville

Matt Moulson – Mikko Koivu – Charlie Coyle

Matt Cooke – Kyle Brodziak – Nino Niederreiter

Dany Heatley – Erik Haula – Cody McCormick

Ryan Suter – Jared Spurgeon

Marco Scandella – Jonas Brodin

Clayton Stoner – Nate Prosser

Ilya Bryzgalov