Edmonton Oilers: Analyzing the Minnesota Wild Win

The Edmonton Oilers won their third straight game last night against the Minnesota Wild. This game could be one of the better Oilers’ performances this season.

The Minnesota Wild didn’t know what hit them last night as they suffered a 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. It was a game that the Wild needed for playoff seeding, and they utterly blew their chances. The Oilers did what they needed to do and played spoiler against a team with playoff implications.

Even though the season is over for the Edmonton Oilers, it still doesn’t mean that they can’t show up for games. This game against the Minnesota Wild is probably one of the more impressive wins for the Oilers all season long.

Everything went right for the Edmonton Oilers in their latest win against the Wild. They didn’t let up on both ends of the ice and kept competing throughout the game. It looked eerily similar to their performance against the New York Islanders on Thursday, but it was a bit more impressive.

They were also a lot more physical with 43 hits for the night which the Wild couldn’t match with their 21 for the game. It wasn’t the deciding factor for the game, but it did help set the tone throughout all three periods. You can say it’s been the defining characteristic of the Edmonton Oilers’ three-game winning streak.

Lineup Change

Shifting Connor McDavid from a playmaker to a scorer by adding Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to the first line was what the Oilers needed. He was in attack mode from the start of the game, and he allowed Nugent-Hopkins to initiate the offense.

It was something that everybody has been hoping for, and our very own Eric Friesen even wrote about earlier in the week. It is the line that can do a lot of damage, and with Connor McDavid scoring two goals, he might be motivated to reach that 40th goal mark.

One significant note to make about this win is that the Edmonton Oilers scored two power-play goals. Even though they had two opportunities with a man-advantage, they still capitalized on those chances, something that hasn’t been happening a lot all year-long.

They might have scored those goals, but it hasn’t addressed if they have fixed that specific problem. Remember that Connor McDavid scored the first power-play goal off a wrist shot and the second one was a breakaway two-on-one scenario with Leon Draisaitl leading the charge.

Adjustments

The Oilers’ power play needs to be functioning with all five players as scoring threats, not just it’s two best players. Those two scenarios could happen with either even strength or a one-man advantage. That’s why it’s crucial for the Oilers to figure out other ways of getting other players involved in scoring opportunities in power play scenarios.

A lot of credit needs to be awarded to Cam Talbot as he was a monster between the pipes. The saves he made for the Oilers was just sensational and made at least two critical saves for his team. All the talk of Talbot being a shell of himself is nonsense.

The reason why is that his team stepped up on both ends of the ice which allowed him to be more attentive to the shots being thrown at him. As long as the Edmonton Oilers handle their business, Cam Talbot should be able to handle the rest.