EDMONTON, Alberta – The streak continues.
After following up a strong start with a sluggish second, the Wild tightened up in the third period to hold off the Oilers 4-1 on Tuesday at Rogers Place and secure a season-high seventh straight win at the beginning of a four-game road trip through the Pacific Division.
Marcus Foligno recorded his second game-winning goal of the season, Joel Eriksson Ek had a goal and assist, and Jonas Brodin and Mats Zuccarello helped out on two goals apiece.
Goaltender Cam Talbot was also sharp, fending off 38 shots to help the Wild keep the NHL's top two scorers in Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid to quiet nights.
Even before those two took their first shifts of the game, the Wild was ahead.
The Oilers put the Wild on the power play barely 30 seconds into the game, and the Wild capitalized at 1 minute, 11 seconds when Eriksson Ek jammed the puck in at the near post for his 10th goal of the season. That was the Wild's only power-play goal in two chances, while the NHL-leading Oilers went 0-for-5.
Eriksson Ek's line doubled the team's advantage at 7:14 when Foligno drove to the net to finish off a give-and-go with Matt Dumba.
In 25 games, Foligno has 11 goals, which was the total he finished with after 39 games last season and 59 games the season before that. He's also just two goals shy of tying his career best from 2016-17 with Buffalo.
As for Eriksson Ek, he also picked up an assist on the play — his second multipoint effort in as many games, just the second time that's happened in his career.
But as has been the case lately, the Wild regressed in the second period.
Edmonton dominated the shot clock, 20-6, and the Oilers converted when Jesse Puljujarvi buried a McDavid Pass past goalie Cam Talbot 6:34 into the period.
In the third, the Wild was much more aggressive — defensively and offensively — and the team was rewarded for that improvement.
A pinching Brodin threaded a pass to Victor Rask for a much-needed insurance goal at 5:33.
Before that, Talbot made a clutch sliding shot on a Darnell Nurse one-timer. Then, after the Wild was up 3-1, he made a stop in-tight against Draisaitl.
With 5:03 to go, Dmitry Kulikov scored on a breakaway against Mikko Koskinen, who finished with 22 saves.
Kirill Kaprizov assisted on the goal, his 12th point during a six-game point streak that's tied for the longest in his NHL career.
