Wild 4, Oilers 2: Captain Mikko Koivu snapped a tie nine seconds into the third period and added two assists as Minnesota continued its home dominance over Northwest Division-rival Edmonton.
Defenseman Jared Spurgeon and rookie Charlie Coyle each recorded a goal and an assist, Dany Heatley also scored and Niklas Backstrom made 19 saves for the Wild, who have won 19 of their last 20 home meetings against the Oilers. Backstrom improved to 24-3-1 lifetime against Edmonton, including a 17-0-0 mark in Minnesota.
Moments after the opening faceoff of the third, Koivu lifted the stick of a defender in the slot and beat Devan Dubnyk from the left hash marks for his fourth goal of the season and a 2-1 Wild lead. The goal matched the franchise record for the fastest to start a period set by Brian Rolston on Nov. 30, 2007 and equaled by Casey Wellman on April 10, 2010.
Magnus Paajarvi and Sam Gagner scored while Dubnyk stopped 39 shots for the Oilers, who fell to 1-2-1 on their season-high nine-game road trip. Edmonton failed to register a shot on goal in the second period and was outshot 29-7 in the first 40 minutes.
Spurgeon gave Minnesota the lead with a wrist shot from the right point 2:37 into the game, but Paajarvi tied it with 2:02 left in the first. Coyle put Minnesota ahead 3-1 exactly six minutes after Koivu's goal and, after Gagner drew Edmonton within one at 12:56, Heatley converted a power-play opportunity with 4:51 remaining to clinch the win.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Revenge could not be exacted by Minnesota as Edmonton LW Taylor Hall sat out with a hamstring injury. Hall added himself to the Wild's most-hated list when the teams met on Feb. 21 as he kneed RW Cal Clutterbuck, who has yet to play since the incident. Hall received a two-game suspension for his actions. ... Edmonton Ds Corey Potter (head) and Mark Fistric (elbow) each sat out a second straight game. ... The home team has won 27 of the last 36 games in the all-time series. Edmonton has won only five of its last 27 visits to Minnesota.
Edmonton | Minnesota | |
Sam Gagner 1 | Points | Mikko Koivu 3 |
Sam Gagner 1 | Goals | Mikko Koivu 1 |
Jordan Eberle 1 | Assists | Mikko Koivu 2 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | Dany Heatley 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Devan Dubnyk .907 | Save Percentage | Niklas Backstrom .905 |
Devan Dubnyk 39 | Saves | Niklas Backstrom 19 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Edmonton | 21 | 2 | 0-1 | 2-3 | 6 | 22 |
Minnesota | 43 | 4 | 1-3 | 1-1 | 2 | 30 |