Wild winning streak hits seven with 5-2 victory over Oilers

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wild are finally healthier, and getting the band back together didn’t mess up their rhythm.

They held off the Oilers, 5-2, on Saturday at Grand Casino Arena for a seventh consecutive victory that pushed their point streak on home ice to a franchise-record 14 games.

Since Nov. 1, the Wild are 12-0-2 in St. Paul.

Their winning streak overall is tied for the Wild’s longest of the season and is the longest current active streak in the NHL. All seven victories have come in regulation, which matches the team record.

“It was more the guys that had been in the lineup are so hungry to win,” coach John Hynes said, “and it was almost like invigorating for them to get some of their teammates back. And then I think the guys that are coming into the lineup were really excited and worked hard to get back.”

Matt Boldy had two goals, including one on the power play. Ryan Hartman’s last-minute tiebreaker in the first period was the end of a scoring spree for both teams until Vladimir Tarasenko widened the Wild’s lead in the third and Nico Sturm tacked on an empty-netter.

Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl combined for a goal and two assists, but the two were stymied after the first period despite being on an offensive tear since the Wild shut out the Oilers 1-0 on Dec. 2.

Filip Gustavsson was key in denying the two the rest of the way, finishing with 28 stops.

“We locked down the front of the net for the most part,” Hartman said. “Pucks weren’t getting through and when they did, Gus made some big saves.”

In front of Gustavsson, the Wild had forwards Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Johansson and Vinnie Hinostroza, and defensemen Jonas Brodin and Jake Middleton were back from injury.

They are still missing defensemen Zach Bogosian and Daemon Hunt.

“You don’t want to come in and screw it up,” Brodin said. “They were playing really good, too. I’ve been watching the games. We were flying. A little rusty first period, but I thought better [as] the game [went] on.”

How it happened

That loss to the Wild in Edmonton was a line in the sand for the Oilers, who won six of their next eight games going into the rematch.

McDavid and Draisaitl were dominating, slotting first and second in scoring in the NHL since Dec. 4 with 39 combined points.

But it was a different star in Boldy who stole the show early.

After intercepting the puck, Boldy buried a breakaway on his backhand at 3 minutes, 42 seconds.

A cross-check by Draisaitl on Brodin and subsequent unsportsmanlike penalty against Draisaitl gave the Wild a four-minute power play, and they took advantage when Quinn Hughes handed off to Boldy for a one-timer at 10:56. Boldy is on a four-game goal streak, and his 22 games are tied with Kirill Kaprizov for the team lead.

“We know the role we’re in, and we embrace it,” said Boldy, whose line with Joel Eriksson Ek and Johansson was matched up against McDavid. “When we’re playing that role well, we do get offense, and it can lead to frustration on the other team and stuff like that.

“When we play good all over the ice and let the offense come to us, that’s when we’re playing at our best.”

Not long after Edmonton got Draisaitl back, he helped ignite the Oilers’ rally by working the puck to Evan Bouchard for a shot that was tipped in by Andrew Mangiapane at 13:35.

Then at 18:44, Edmonton pulled even on the power play, with McDavid pouncing on a loose puck amid a scramble in Gustavsson’s crease. Both teams went 1 for 2 on the power play.

Turning point

That late goal for the Oilers was upstaged by an even later goal for the Wild: Hartman passed off to Middleton, who returned the puck for a net-crashing redirect by Hartman with eight seconds to go in the first period.

“You get a late goal in a period, that’s always a big momentum shift, especially if they’re the ones who scored last,” Hartman said. “So, [we] went from coming into the period tied to coming out of the period ahead. It’s a lot easier playing ahead.”

Zuccarello, in his first game since he fell face-first into the ice after getting hit Dec. 8 at Seattle, picked up his second assist on the play.

After a back-and-forth second, the Wild finally netted an insurance goal when Tarasenko backhanded in a rebound at 9:08.

Tarasenko has scored in a season-high three consecutive games, and four of his seven goals have come in that span. He passed off to Sturm for an empty-net goal with 1:25 remaining.

Edmonton goalie Calvin Pickard made 32 saves.

“He’s got some pop to his legs, and he’s explosive, and he’s getting himself some great opportunities,” Hynes said of Tarasenko. “He’s been a big difference-maker for us.”

Key stat

The Wild limited McDavid and Draisaitl to one goal despite the two having 22 shot attempts.

“They’re going to get their looks. They’re just that good,” said Hughes, who was excellent vs. McDavid. “But I felt like we did a good job on them.”

What it means

This is a challenging weekend for the Wild, who will take on first-place Colorado on Sunday, and getting five regulars back in their lineup is a big boost.

“It really comes down to the players, what their timetables were,” Hynes said. “Fortunately, it worked out that way for us.”

The Wild played admirably with stand-ins from the minors, but getting closer to full strength for two tough matchups will give them a better read of where they stack up in a top-heavy Western Conference.

They’ve yet to lose since acquiring Hughes, and the offense has surged since the puck mover’s arrival; not only have the Wild racked up at least five goals in all four games with Hughes, but all four of those wins have been by three goals or more — the first time that’s happened in franchise history.

But the Wild made a defensive statement by shutting down the Oilers’ offense after a two-goal first period, a crackdown that saw Edmonton record 16 shots in the second and third after tallying 14 in the first.

The Wild blocked 21 shots.

“We played tighter,” Brodin said. “They had some good shifts, and we had some good shifts. But I thought overall we were the better team.”

Up next

The Wild will encounter a rested Avalanche team; Colorado defeated Winnipeg on Friday, its fourth consecutive victory.