Wild Game Day number 12 Wild Record (6-3-2 14 pts) Road Record (1-3-0)
Opponent: Edmonton Oilers (6-3-1 13 pts) Home Record (2-1-1)
Site: Rogers Place, Edmonton, AB
Time: 8:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last Season Results: 12/4 Wild 2 @ Oilers 1(OT) 12/9 Oilers 2 @ Wild 3(SO) 1/31 Wild 5 @ Oilers 2
Last result: 12/16 Oilers 3 @ Wild 2 3/10 Wild 1 @ Oilers 4 4/2 Oilers 0 @Wild 3
Last night the Wild once again came out flat and this time the third period charge was not enough to overcome Elias Pettersson's two goal performance in the 5-2 loss in Vancouver. Tonight they go right back at it with the surging Edmonton Oilers, winners of three straight,with points in their last four.
To say the Oilers have had a tough opening month schedule would be an understatement of epic proportion. After beginning the season in Sweden losing to the Devils 5-2, they traveled to Boston, New York (Rangers), and Winnipeg, before playing their first home game of the season on October 18th. Once they returned home the schedule did not get any easier as the Oilers hosted Boston, Nashville, Pittsburgh, and Washington, before hitting the road with back to back games first in Nashville Saturday, and then Chicago on Sunday.
The fact that Edmonton sits one point behind Pacific Division leading, San Jose with a game in hand, says all that you need to know about how this Oilers team is playing.
The Wild cannot afford to come out flat in the first period, no tired legs excuses tonight. Minnesota is 2-0 in the back end of back to backs so far this season, but tonight will be the toughest of those matchups to date.
Alex Stalock is expected to get the start in goal for the Wild. Devan Dubnyk has been out and away the Wild's best player, but having Stalock in net tonight may actually work in Minnesota's favor. Stalock is very active and his puck handling skills could come in handy for the Wild, if he can help them shorten the ice. Of course that is going to require the Wild forwards and defense to apply the pressure eliminating the space for the Oilers in the neutral zone as much as possible.
With the next six on the road, the Wild know they must get points in as many of these games as possible, already sitting 5th in the always difficult Central Division. Falling too far behind, even as the calendar is only turning to November, makes things extremely difficult.
Last night J.T. Brown was the odd forward out of the lineup, as Jordan Greenway made his way back in, and getting the Wild on the board with his first NHL regular season goal. Greenway who had the short two game AHL stint to regain some of his confidence, appears to have taken that message to heart. Coming off the hattrick Saturday in Iowa and then making it four goals in his last two games with his marker last night.
Wild projected lines: Zucker Staal Niederreiter Parise Koivu Granlund Eriksson Ek Coyle Greenway Foligno Fehr Read
Suter Dumba Brodin Spurgeon Seeler Pateryn
Stalock Dubnyk
It's always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!
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