Edmonton @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 22, 2019 ) Edmonton 0, Minnesota 3

The Minnesota Wild were demolished in their home opener, giving up a season-high goal total, but that marked their only regulation loss at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild have earned points in 10 consecutive games at home (7-0-3), including a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, who will seek payback when they visit Minnesota on Thursday night.

The Wild kept their streak intact, erasing an early two-goal deficit against Anaheim before absorbing a 3-2 shootout defeat on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game homestand. “It’s nice to see we battled back," forward Ryan Donato said. "It just doesn’t mean anything at the end of the day if we don’t come away with the win.” The Oilers fell into an early hole for the second straight contest and could not recover Tuesday against Carolina, suffering its second three-goal defeat on their four-game homestand (1-2-1). "We needed to find a couple more wins, and we didn't," captain Connor McDavid said. "So we need to go out on the road and find a big one in Minnesota and come back and defend home ice again."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Oilers, FS North, FS Wisconsin (Minnesota)

ABOUT THE OILERS (18-11-4): Edmonton has failed to produce more than three goals in seven consecutive games, a troubling number considering McDavid and Leon Draisaitl rank 1-2 in the league in scoring with 55 and 54 points, respectively. McDavid has only one goal over his last eight games, although he has nine assists in that span and has been a nemesis for the Wild with six tallies and eight assists in 13 meetings. Draisaitl has 10 of his 19 goals on the road and has tallied seven times in 12 games versus Minnesota.

ABOUT THE WILD (14-12-5): Already missing captain Mikko Koivu and defenseman Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota took another hit Tuesday when co-leading scorer Eric Staal had to exit the game in the first period after colliding with an official. “What are we going to do? Just phone it in and say, ‘We got a couple of injuries. Can everyone just not let us play for a while?’" said coach Bruce Boudreau, who did not have an update on Staal at Wednesday's practice. The Wild are 0-for-12 on the power play in the last four games.

OVERTIME

1. Oilers F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has five goals in his last nine games after scoring one in his first 18 contests.

2. The Wild recalled F Gerald Mayhew from Iowa of the American Hockey League.

3. The Oilers are 7-for-20 on the power play over the past four games.

PREDICTION: Oilers 4, Wild 3