1 p.m. vs. Edmonton • Xcel Energy Center • FSN, 100.3-FM
Oilers aren't meeting expectations
Preview: The Wild (17-11-3) has won its past five home games and is 7-0-1 since Nov. 14. The Wild's overall four-game win streak, matching its longest of the season, will come up against struggling Edmonton (13-17-2), a trendy Stanley Cup champion pick when the season started.
Numbers: The Oilers' 20-year-old captain, Connor McDavid, who led the NHL in scoring last season, is third this season (12 goals, 27 assists for 39 points). Leon Draisaitl, who got an eight-year, $68 million contract after last season, has only eight goals and 14 assists. Goalies Cam Talbot (3.00 goals-against average) and Laurent Brossoit (3.22) have been victims of poor team defense. … The Wild's 110 points, 24 victories in Edmonton and 50 overall are the most against any franchise.
Quotable: "We're going to have to be great defensively against them. I mean, threw 46 shots at Nashville [in a 4-0 loss Thursday], and Nashville's a hard team to get 46 shots on. So you know, they're coming, and it's, I really worry about teams that struggle the night before." – Wild coach Bruce Boudreau on Edmonton.
Injuries: Wild F Zach Parise (back) and G Devan Dubnyk (lower body) are out while D Jared Spurgeon (groin) is questionable. Edmonton D Adam Larsson (upper body) and D Andrej Sekera (knee) are out.
Megan Ryan
