Oilers have rare third period lapse in loss to Wild
The Edmonton Oilers have been one of the best third-period teams in the entire NHL of late, but that wasn’t the case in Friday night’s 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
The Oilers had a good second period for the first time in a while, but while they did show well in the third, the Wild got two goals past Calvin Pickard. While the effort was there in the final 40, the team had a hard time getting much of anything going in the first 20.
Captain Connor McDavid wasn’t happy with how the Oilers came out to start the game.
“I thought it was as flat a first period as we’ve had,” McDavid told reporters after the game. “If you wanna be a good team you’ve gotta play all three periods.”
"I thought we were able to build a game & give ourselves a chance & it just didn’t come through."
McDavid speaks after registering two assists in tonight’s loss to the Wild. @Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/PXKMl3mEK1
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 24, 2024
The third period was a shooting gallery by the Oilers, outshooting the Wild by a 24-7 margin. Despite that, they were only able to find the back of the net once in the final frame, on a powerplay goal from Zach Hyman. Otherwise, Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson was a brick wall to close this one out.
EDM MIN G54. February 23, 2024. Zach Hyman goal. 2-3. 🎥: Sportsnet | NHL pic.twitter.com/mAa0SVDbxA
— Nation Network Media (@NationNMedia) February 24, 2024
Overall, Edmonton won big on the shot clock, outshooting Minnesota 43-20 all night, but the goaltending battle was a decisive victory for the visitors. The usually reliable Pickard fought the puck on all three goals he was in the net for. It was one of those nights where the Oilers goaltender couldn’t make the extra save that was required of him.
However, a lack of finish was also a problem for the Oilers tonight.
“It was unfortunate, just like you look at us not being able to score goals tonight,” said Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch after the game. “I put nothing on the goaltender.”
Matt Boldy bags his second of the night to give the @mnwild a two-goal lead ✌️ pic.twitter.com/1JXPyIrczj
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 24, 2024
The Oilers now find themselves on a two-game losing streak and fail to surpass the Vegas Golden Knights, who are just points ahead of them. They will have another shot when the Calgary Flames are in town tomorrow night.
Follow Channels and Categories