ST. PAUL, Minn. _ The puck bounced around the Oilers' crease like it had been flung inside a pinball machine.
But the one place it rarely went was inside the net.
Despite attempting 65 shots, the Wild barely squeaked any behind Edmonton goalie Cam Talbot _ a struggle that ended as a 4-1 loss Thursday at Xcel Energy Center that nixed the Oilers' six-game slide while prolonging the Wild's winless skid to four.
Center Joel Eriksson Ek, tasked with helping ease the loss of captain Mikko Koivu after Koivu tore the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his right knee earlier in the week, was the only one to convert _ an encouraging response after he was promoted from the minors to the Wild's top-nine.
But overall, the team's first impression without Koivu was a dud that highlighted a familiar problem for the Wild that predated Koivu's injury, and that's a lack of execution _ an issue that looked like it could resurface based on the team's start.
While the Oilers capitalized on their first shot of the game 2 minutes, 15 seconds into the first period, a wind-up from the point from defenseman Darnell Nurse after he accepted a hand off from captain Connor McDavid, the Wild didn't register their first shot on net until almost 10 minutes had expired.
The team finished the frame with six official shots but had another 14 that were either blocked or missed the net.
Its aim was much better in the second, when the Wild tested Talbot 15 times, but the jump in volume didn't help the team's productivity.
Not even a power-play opportunity improved its chances. That's because the Wild didn't even get a shot on goal during the look.
Meanwhile, Edmonton went ahead by two when winger Ty Rattie buried a pass from center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on a 2-on-1 rush at 4:32.
Still, considering the Oilers' track record _ they had blown third-period leads in each of their last three games _ a rally wasn't unthinkable for the Wild.
And the likelihood of that was stoked when Eriksson Ek, who was a presence all game in the offensive zone amid five shots, one-timed a feed from winger Jason Zucker by Talbot just 2:50 into the third.
The goal was Eriksson Ek's third of the season, and the assist sealed Zucker's 200th career point. He became the 13th player in franchise history to achieve the milestone.
But an interference penalty by Zucker, who checked defenseman Kris Russell into Edmonton's net, drained the Wild's momentum.
On the ensuing power play, the Oilers reinstated their two-goal cushion on a finish by winger Leon Draisaitl at 5:35.
It looked like the Wild may be poised for their own chance with the man advantage after winger Zach Parise was dumped by winger Zack Kassian, but there was no call.
Soon after, though, the Oilers took a cross-checking penalty and that gave the Wild a long-awaited second opportunity on the power play. But again, the team didn't even put a puck on net.
And to make matters worse, the Wild went back on the penalty kill after that.
Edmonton didn't score this time, finishing 1 for 3, but it still spent the majority of the two minutes in the Wild's zone _ precious time that the Wild couldn't use to continue their comeback effort, which ultimately fell short.
Kassian added an empty-netter with 1:20 to go.
Talbot, who was pulled in the Oilers' previous game after giving up three third-period goals to the Chicago Blackhawks, ended up with 35 saves.
The Wild's Devan Dubnyk made 19 stops.
