ST. PAUL — With the band mostly back together, the Minnesota Wild made the goal horn wail enough for their seventh straight win on Saturday.
Matt Boldy had a pair of first-period goals for the Wild, who were playing with a healthier lineup after five regulars returned. They put together enough defense over the final two periods to hang on for a 5-2 win over a determined Edmonton Oilers’ squad.
Ryan Hartman’s opportunistic goal in the dying seconds of the opening period was the difference-maker. Vladimir Tarasenko added a third-period insurance goal—his fourth in the past three games—as the Wild improved to 4-0-0 since last week’s blockbuster trade for Quinn Hughes. Tarasenko also set up Nico Sturm for an empty-net goal with 85 seconds left on the clock.
“It’s exciting for sure,” Hughes said. “I think the team’s won seven in a row. I’ve been here for four. It’s exciting. We got two more before Christmas, hopefully grab those.”
Filip Gustavsson was busy with Edmonton’s talented offense all afternoon, finishing with 28 saves and improving to 12-8-3 as Minnesota’s starter.
“We know who to look out for out there against that team,” Hartman said, after Edmonton stars Connor McDavid had a goal and Leon Draisaitl had two assists. “You know the line that was matched up with them did a great job. We locked down the front of the net for the most part, pucks weren’t getting through, and when they did, Gus made some big saves. So, good team win.”
Boldy, who entered the contest with a three-game scoring streak, quickly made it four when he intercepted a puck from Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm at the defensive blue line. Sprung on a breakaway, Boldy’s crafty backhander slipped past the Edmonton goalie on the glove side less than five minutes into the game.
Near the midway point of the first, Draisaitl was whistled for cross-checking and protested a bit too forcefully on his way to the penalty box, drawing a second minor for unsportsmanlike conduct.
There was nothing subtle or crafty about Boldy’s work on the extended power play, as he took a pass from Hughes and used brute force to blast the puck past Calvin Pickard, high on the stick side this time, doubling the Wild’s lead.
“Breakaway was just kind of a reaction and then kind of a slower pass on the power play, so tried to go to the far side,” said Boldy, after his third multi-goal game of the season.
The tie was short-lived, as Hartman cashed in a pretty give-and-go pass from Jake Middleton with 7.2 seconds on the clock.
Edmonton did everything except score on a power play early in the middle frame, and the Wild got some important puck luck when a shot by Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard clanked the inside of the goal post behind Gustavsson, then sailed out of harm’s way. The Wild blocked 20 shots in the game.
“Yeah. You know, it’s so fun to see. The goalies always appreciate it so much,” said Gustavsson of the entire team’s defensive effort. “You can’t cover all your body with pads as a player, and they still go out there and block those one-timer shots. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a skill guy or not, and you love to see that.”
Tarasenko, acquired in a trade with Detroit in July, had been relatively quiet early in his time with the Wild but now has five goals since returning from an injury in late November. He popped in a loose puck in the crease behind Pickard after an initial shot by Yakov Trenin.
“Vladdy is skating really well, he’s ultra-competitive, he’s getting shots off,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “I felt like, since he’s gotten here, his responsibility in his play without the puck, from a defensive standpoint, has always been strong. Now he’s just getting rewarded for his hard work.”
Pickard finished with 32 saves for the Oilers, who had won four of their previous five games but are now 0-2-0 versus the Wild this season.
The Wild’s three-game, pre-Christmas homestand continues on Sunday evening, with the Central Division-leading Colorado Avalanche making their second visit of the season to St. Paul. The Wild won their first meeting of the season, 3-2 in a shootout on the day after Thanksgiving.
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