National Hockey League
Minnesota 4, Edmonton 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Trevor Hanson, Mike Leggo
Linesmen: Shandor Alphonso, Brad Kovachik
Attendance: 18936

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Ryan Suter's primary job Tuesday was to slow down Edmonton Oilers star rookie Connor McDavid. Scoring a few goals in the process was just a bonus for the Minnesota Wild defenseman.

Trailing in the third period, the Wild got goals from Suter and center Charlie Coyle just 43 seconds apart, rallying to beat the Oilers 4-3 to remain perfect at home.

Suter scored his second goal of the game to forge a 3-3 tie, and on the next shift, Coyle swept a puck past Oilers goalie Cam Talbot, as Minnesota improved to 4-0-0 at Xcel Energy Center.

"Like I've said since I've been here, points are good but wins are more important," said Suter, after his third career multi-goal game. "I thought our forwards worked hard. They were, I think, able to back their forwards off to give us some more room back there so I think they deserve most of the credit."

Suter and defenseman Marco Scandella had first-period goals for the Wild (6-2-1), who saw a 2-0 lead slip away, but won thanks in part to 22 saves from goalie Devan Dubnyk, including a toe stop of McDavid on the doorstep late in the third.

For the Oilers, defenseman Darnell Nurse scored his first career goal to give Edmonton (3-7-0) a 3-2 lead in the third period, but they could not sustain it. Left winger Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist, and right winger Iiro Pakarinen scored for the Oilers, who got 24 saves from Talbot but lost their third game in a row.

"That's a tough one to lose," Hall said. "You're winning in the third period on the road. Those have to translate into wins. We spent a lot of time in our end and they capitalized on a couple."

The Wild jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the opening period was half over. Just minutes after a shot by right winger Jason Pominville clanked the crossbar, Suter's seeing-eye shot from the top of the left circle made its way through a crowd and hit the top left corner of the net before Talbot could react.

"I'm happy to see him get rewarded, because I feel that his play has been very strong all year," Wild coach Mike Yeo said, after Suter matched his goal total from all of last season on Tuesday. "He's been factoring in, getting a lot of assists, and he's been shooting a lot of pucks. There's been a lot of pucks that I feel he's been unlucky not to score on, just because we've had good net front and the pucks are getting through."

On the next shift, Wild defenseman Matt Dumba collided hard with Oilers left winger Lauri Korpikoski, then Dumba skated away when the Oilers challenged him to a fight. Minnesota emerged with a power play and doubled its lead when Scandella scored off a deflection that eluded Talbot on the glove side. It was Scandella's first goal of the season.

"I'm not saying we need to play perfect," Oilers first-year coach Todd McLellan said. "We're going to make mistakes, but the real preventable ones are the ones that are killing us right now. Suter scored two goals tonight and both of them went off our sticks. That's hockey, that happens."

Edmonton got one back before the period was over when Hall capped off a scramble in front of the Wild next, popping the rebound of a puck aided along by right winger Nail Yakupov past Dubnyk. It was the second goal in as many games for Hall.

In the middle period, Hall's pass from below the goal line was spot-on to Pakarinen, who was playing just his second game for Edmonton after being called up last week. Pakarinen's shot deflected off Dumba's knee, changing directions just enough to fool Dubnyk and tie the game at 2-2.

Oilers left winger Rob Klinkhammer suffered an apparent lower-body injury in the first period during a collision in the corner behind Dubnyk. Klinkhammer limped to the bench and did not return to the game.

NOTES: With Oilers D Justin Schultz out of the lineup, the team called up D Darnell Nurse to make his season debut. Nurse, drafted seventh overall by Edmonton in 2013, played his first two NHL games for the Oilers last season. Schultz, who left early from the Oilers' home game Sunday, did not make the trip to Minnesota. The team has not disclosed the reason for his absence. ... Tuesday's game was the 700th of Wild LW Zach Parise's career. Originally drafted by the Devils, he spent his first 502 games in New Jersey before signing as a free agent in his home state in the summer of 2012. ... This was the Oilers' only road game in a stretch where they are playing seven of eight games at home. They open a four-game homestand Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens. ... The Wild's next game is a playoff rematch against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.
Top Game Performances
 
Edmonton   Minnesota
Taylor Hall 2 Points Ryan Suter 2
Taylor Hall 1 Goals Ryan Suter 2
Taylor Hall 1 Assists Thomas Vanek 2
N/A Power Play Goals Marco Scandella 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Cameron Talbot .857 Save Percentage Devan Dubnyk .880
Cameron Talbot 24 Saves Devan Dubnyk 22
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Edmonton 25 3 0-1 1-2 4 26
Minnesota 28 4 1-2 1-1 2 25
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Chicago. The Wild have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Edmonton will play their next game at home against Montreal. The Oilers have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .143 after a loss.