Wild hang tough in Edmonton, win on Granlund’s third-period goal
EDMONTON, Alberta — As they embark on their longest road trip ever, the Minnesota Wild managed to bounce back from a loss in Vancouver despite playing for the second night in a row.
Mikael Granlund scored with 5:48 left, Eric Staal had a goal and two assists, and the Wild beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Granlund sneaked a power-play goal past netminder Cam Talbot for his sixth of the season. The game had been tied at 3 since Staal scored on a power play late in the second period.
Granlund has a point in nine straight games.
"It feels like pucks are going in," he said. "There are a lot of things that I think I can do better, but pucks are finding their way in and I'll take it."
Zach Parise and Jared Spurgeon also scored for the Wild (7-3-2), who have won six of seven.
"We have good players and we have a good team," Staal said. "We feel like we can come back any time and if we stay with our game and our structure, we have the talent to be able to cash in on opportunities. You don't want to give up the first goal, but it happens and you just have to keep playing."
Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Alex Chiasson scored for the Oilers (6-4-1), who ended a three-game winning streak.
The Oilers started the scoring eight minutes into the opening period just after a power play expired when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins dove to poke the puck to Draisaitl, who sent his seventh goal into an empty net before goalie Alex Stalock could get across.
Minnesota tied it with six minutes left in the first with a power-play goal. Parise pounced on a rebound and slipped it past Talbot.
https://youtu.be/WKt8_fR0RL4
Edmonton outshot the Wild 22-14 in the first period.
The Oilers went up 2-1 four minutes into the second when McDavid turned on the jets to get past a pair of defenders and beat Stalock up high for his ninth.
Minnesota tied it back up 12 minutes into the second when Spurgeon was left alone in front.
Edmonton surged back ahead less than a minute later, however, as Chiasson tipped in Matt Benning's point shot.
The Wild pulled even again with 1:40 left in the second with Staal tipping a shot in on the power play.
https://youtu.be/zyUwI6dPUG4
"We were the better team, five-on-five, but special teams cost us," McDavid said. "Our power play didn't do anything (0 for 5) and they went three-for-three on their power play. That's not good."
NOTES: With seven consecutive road games, the Wild are on their longest trip in franchise history. ... It was the first of three meetings between the two teams this season. ... The Wild currently have the oldest team in the NHL with an average age of 28.9. The Oilers are currently the youngest, with an average age of 25.5.
https://youtu.be/-MiNUhY2SNo
UP NEXT
Wild: Play at St. Louis on Saturday.
Oilers: Host Chicago on Thursday.
