On ice on Friday, one of three games will feature the Minnesota Wild on the road at the Edmonton Oilers. Minnesota has played better as of late, and moved to 26-24-6. Their 58 points is still 10th in the Western Conference, but just two points behind the 8th and final seed for the postseason. Minnesota is coming off a road loss at the Jets on Tuesday.
For Edmonton, their hot streak during January and the start of February propelled them to third in the Pacific and sixth in the West. The Oilers have 68 points, with a 33-18-2 record. Edmonton dropped a 6-5 thriller in overtime on Wednesday to the Boston Bruins.
The Edmonton Oilers are -172 in this game. The total listed at 6.5.
Wild Going Through Challenges
Minnesota has found a little bit of the magic touch, recording a point in each of their first six games in February. That came to a stop on Tuesday, losing at Winnipeg. In each of the wins this month; the Wild have scored 3 goals or more. IN a win over the Canucks on Monday, Minnesota scored a team high 10 goals.
The WIld are scoring 3.11 goals per game. The defense is allowing teams to score 3.34 per game. Neither have been great, which is part of the reason the Wild are on the outside looking in for the postseason. Minnesota’s top scorer has been Kairil Kaprizov. He has assisted on 35 goals and scored 24. Joel Eriksson Ek is second with 28 goals.
Minnesota is on the road at Seattle on Saturday. The Tuesday game next week for the Wid is at home against Carolina, and then a trip to Nashville and St. Louis.
Oilers Fighting into Playoff Spot
It was an incredible run for the Edmonton Oilers. After their third straight loss on December 19th, the Oilers went 16 straight games without losing. The next loss came Tuesday February 6th at Vegas. Since that loss though, the Oilers are just 4-3.
The Oilers are an elite goals scoring team. Edmonton is scoring nearly 3.6 goals per game. Edmonton is getting over 33 shots on goal per game, and scoring on more than 26% of their power play chances. Connor McDavid leads the team with 85 points. 64 are assists, with 21 goals. Leon Draisaitl is next with 68. Zach Hyman leads the team with 34 goals.
The Oilers remain at home for three more to end the month. They will get visits from the Flames, Kings and Blues. Once March arrives, the Oilers start on the road at the Seattle Kraken.
Oilers Beat Wild at Home
The Minnesota Wild have played better hockey as of late. But, that begs the question. How good are the Wild? Are they the team that has played so far in February, or the team we saw the first half of the season, that was at the bottom of the standings? Look for the Oilers to out score the Wild here. Edmonton can score, and score quickly. At home, we like their chances. Take Edmonton -172 over Minnesota on Friday!
