GAME RECAP: Wild 7, Oilers 3

EDMONTON, AB -Tyler Benson scored his first career National Hockey League goal, Evander Kane registered his fifth strike in 11 games and Zach Hyman picked up two points but the Edmonton Oilers had their five-game winning stretch snapped Sunday at Rogers Place with a 7-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
After Mike Smith allowed four goals against on seven shots in the opening frame, Mikko Koskinen made 12 saves on 15 shots in relief as the oilers fell to 28-19-3 on the season and 6-3-1 in their last 10.
Minnesota forward Kevin Fiala produced a pair of goals and added a helper for a three-point performance while Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello collected a goal and assist each to lead the Wild offensively. In goal, Kaapo Kahkonen turned aside 30 of the Oilers 33 shots to finish the night with a .909 save percentage.

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FIRST BLOOD

Wild forward Brandon Duhaime lit the lamp at 2:49 of the first period to put the visitors on the board early, and his teammates followed suit soon after.
As Minnesota's forwards were cycling in the Oilers zone, The right-winger planted himself all alone near the slot before being fed a pass from Nick Bjugstad. Duhaime swiftly whipped the puck top corner to kickstart the offence as the Wild would go on to score three more to produce a 4-0 advantage before the conclusion of the first.

TURNING POINT

Fiala's second goal of the night at 13:38 of the opening period served as the eventual game-winning score and marked Smith's fourth goal allowed on seven shots to prompt Oilers Head Coach Jay Woodcroft to pull the netminder and bring in Koskinen.
The forward's goal made it 4-0 and the visitors never looked back, going on to put three more on the board while giving up just three against on the road.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT

There's nothing more special than a player's first National Hockey League goal. Tyler Benson, now, knows.
Despite the Oilers trailing by five in the second period, the Edmonton product captured his first career tally by jamming a loose puck past Kahkonen at 15:58 of the middle frame.
William Lagesson fired a point shot and Hyman crashed the crease in pursuit of the follow-up, causing enough chaos for the play to stay alive. The puck idled in the crease before Benson tucked it with a simple tap-in as the former South Side Athletic Club Lion collected the illustrious marker in his 30th career game.

SAVE OF THE GAME

After spelling Smith in the first, Koskinen produced the save of the game with a leg-splitting denial on a Kirill Kaprizov breakaway. The Russian barreled down 1-on-1 with Koskinen while the keeper was still cold, pulling a few nifty stickhandles before trying to stuff the puck in on his forehand - only to be foiled by the guardian's right pad.

PARTING WORDS

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft on the Oilers shortcomings Sunday:
"Obviously, not happy with the result. Wasn't happy with the way we began the game as a group. I thought we made some errors that can be cleaned up. You find yourself down 4-1 at the end of the first period, you got into the dressing room and you talk as a group about the things you want cleaned up. I thought we got a little better as the game went on but some mental errors that ended up in the back of our net. Give credit to the other hockey team, they're a good hockey team as well. Certainly, our team can be better. We can play better."
Woodcroft on the Oilers five-game road trip coming up:
"We're going to handle it the way we've handled our business here over the last little while, which is to take it one day at a time. We are going to worry about the next opponent but before we can even get to that, we're going to worry about resting and recuperating after playing five games in seven nights. We're going to travel down to Florida and we're going to get a good team practice in, something we haven't had a lot of. We're going to come up with a game plan versus the two-time Stanley Cup champions."
Leon Draisaitl on the Oilers loss and looking ahead to the team's upcoming five-game road trip:
"We didn't have much jump today. Got off to a really bad start. This League is too hard to come back from a 4-0 deficit. I thought we had a little push in the second there but couldn't really get anything going.
"It's going to be a tough road trip. It's a long one against some really good hockey teams in this League but we're a really good team, too. We didn't have our best tonight but we're going to regroup and look to have a successful road trip."

Darnell Nurse on facing some of the best clubs in the League in the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes:
"You park it and move on to a big road trip here. We have a couple of days to rest and recoup and then we look forward to playing some of the best teams in the League. That's what you look forward to as a player."
Draisaitl on the positives the Oilers gained during their five-game winning streak:
"I'm very positive that it's just one of those nights. We played five really, really good games in a row and even tonight, there were stretches where we were OK. We just didn't execute, didn't have much jump, as I said earlier, but we know we're a good team when we play the right way and we play it our way. We just have to regroup here a little bit, get back to that and get off to a good road trip."
Draisaitl on Benson getting his first NHL goal:
"It's always great to see. I'm sure he would have liked it to be in a tighter game but regardless, this is a great moment for a young player. It's a special moment. Hopefully, his family was here tonight and they got to watch him score his first goal. Regardless of the score, it's an amazing moment."
Draisaitl on the Oilers energy levels after playing five games in seven days:
"Of course, we've been playing a lot of games, no question, but every team goes through this. We don't want to use this as an excuse. We had no jump today and our execution wasn't where it needs to be. That's a good team and you got to tip your cap every once in a while. They made some good plays. We know what we have to do to be better."
Nurse on the chances given up early in the game:
"It was too many Grade-As, whether it's breakaways or 2-on-1s. It's tough to give your goalies those kinds of looks early in the game."