GAME RECAP: Oilers 7, Wild 1

ST. PAUL, MN – Leon Draisaitl had a monster game with four points, recording a goal and three assists as the Edmonton Oilers demolished the NHL's best in the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night to earn their fourth straight victory with a 7-1 win at Xcel Energy Center.

Draisaitl extended his NHL scoring lead with his 21st goal of the season and has four goals and six assists during a four-game point streak. Connor Brown (1G, 1A), Connor McDavid (2A), Evan Bouchard (2A) and Darnell Nurse each contributed with multiple points, while goaltender Calvin Pickard made 29 saves as the Oilers improved to 17-10-2 this season and 7-1-0 over their last eight games.

The Oilers hadn't won in the State of Hockey since February 2019 (six games) but jumped on the Wild right from the start after their German superstar set up goals for Zach Hyman on the power play and Kasperi Kapanen at even strength for a 2-1 Oilers' lead through 20 minutes.

Forward Connor Brown scored shorthanded early in the middle frame before Ryan Nugent-Hopkins nabbed another PPG for his fifth goal of the season more than half a period later, putting the Oilers in control up 4-1 before Leon Draisaitl got a lucky bounce for his league-leading 21st goal of the season.

Troy Stecher and Derek Ryan added third-period goals, with Darnell Nurse registering assists on both tallies to surpass 200 career assists in the victory.

"I thought we were very motivated to play a good hockey team – first place in the NHL and playing really well and not giving very much up," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "We've been playing some good hockey lately. I think right through our lineup, everyone gave us a really good game. Anytime that Minnesota had an opportunity to get back in the game, Picks came up with some big key saves."

Edmonton can make up more ground in the Pacific Division standings on Saturday when they host the Vegas Golden Knights in a matinée matchup at Rogers Place.

FIRST PERIOD

The Oilers enjoyed their best start in a long time inside Xcel Energy Center where it's always been a struggle for this franchise, losing on their last six visits but jumping out to a 1-0 lead inside six minutes on Thursday after earning the game's first power play.

Connor McDavid needed only five seconds off the ensuing faceoff to find Leon Draisaitl for a back-door one-timer, which caught a piece of Zach Hyman's stick at the last second to give the winger credit for the goal that extended his point streak vs. the Wild to 10 games (4G, 7A) – the longest of his career against any team.

McDavid and Draisaitl combined for the assists, marking the 458th time in their careers they factored in on a goal together.

Defenceman Ty Emberson waged a hard scrap with Jakub Lauko before Calvin Pickard went post-to-post to deny Frederick Gaudreau with his best save of the period – one of his key saves despite the game being dominated offensively by the Oilers.

"Just solid. Key saves at key moments," Hyman said. "He made all the saves that you'd want him to make and then some, so he gave us a chance to win."

The Oilers continued to buzz and deservingly doubled their lead on a one-touch finish from Kasperi Kapanen, who completed Leon Draisaitl's hard move going around Minnesota's net.

Draisaitl protected the puck and delivered a pass in front to the Finnish forward to score his second goal in an Oilers uniform, snapping it past netminder Filip Gustavsson to make it 2-0 for Edmonton with 4:20 left in the opening frame.

With a goal and an assist in the first period, Draisaitl is now on a four-game multi-point streak and has six games with two or more points in his last eight outings.

The Oilers killed off 1:58 of their first penalty in the final four minutes of the frame, but the Wild cut into the lead at 2-1 on defenceman Brock Faber's shot through traffic that Gaudreau tipped on its way past Pickard.

SECOND PERIOD

It was just one of those games where the Oilers – and their German superstar – weren't going to be denied.

"Leon was really good," Knoblauch said. "I thought of all our players really stood out tonight. I can't say that anybody had an off game. Everyone was really good, but Leon really was at another level. His two linemates really helped out, Podkolzin and Kapanen, and those three have been playing well.

"But Leon in the last week or so has really been on top of his game."

After the Oilers gave up a power-play goal late in the opening period, Connor Brown got it right back while shorthanded, scoring Edmonton's second SHG of the season on a fortunate odd-man rush for Edmonton.

Emberson jumped into the rush and moved it under a Wild defender's stick to Mattias Janmark, who got a slight touch on the puck to direct it into the path of Brown for a quick shot over the left shoulder of Gustavsson that made it 3-1 just 1:55 into the middle frame.

Despite giving up a PPG tonight, the Oilers' penalty kill finished 2-for-3 and has been a major factor in their recent success by killing off 28 of their last 31 penalties (90.3 percent). Two more power-play goals on Thursday night made it six goals on the man advantage over their last six games as Edmonton's special teams show signs that it's turned a corner from a slow start to the season.

"I think everybody in our locker room is pretty confident that it was going to turn. It's a long season," Hyman said. "Obviously we didn't get off to the greatest start on both ends, but we have a history of being pretty good on the special teams. So it's good to get it sorted and find some consistency and hopefully, carry it forward."

Emberson notched an assist and was a goal short of securing the Gordie Howe hat trick, while Brown's fourth goal of the season matched his total from last year, leaving him two goals away from reaching 100 for his career.

"I think my game's in a good spot right now," Emberson said. "I think just as the season has gone on, I've built some confidence up in finding ways to contribute, whether it's on the PK or just playing hard five-on-five. I think it's in a good spot and I'm just trying to keep building on that.

The Oilers continued to grind the Wild down with plenty of time in the offensive zone, receiving another power play just past the midway mark and making it 4-1 after Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scooped in his fifth of the season off the rebound from Leon Draisaitl's original shot from the top of the right circle.

Three minutes later, Draisaitl was given another friendly bounce on his league-leading 21st goal of the season, seeing his attempted shot off the back-hand feed from Evan Bouchard get rebounded off his own knee by defenceman Jonas Brodin before flying over Gustavsson and into the net.

Edmonton scored three unanswered goals to give themselves control, leading 5-1 over Minnesota with Draisaitl working on a four-point performance with a goal and three assists through 40 minutes.

THIRD PERIOD

With the Oilers' superstars lighting up the league's best in the first two periods, the depth scoring poured in over the final frame to put the wrap on a complete 60-minute performance in Minnesota.

Defenceman Troy Stecher had a shot go in off the glove of Wild forward Marco Rossi, making it 6-1 with under 14 minutes left in a dominating effort from Edmonton. Darnell Nurse picked up his first of two assists in the third period, reaching 200 career helpers on Stecher's second goal in three games.

Forward Derek Ryan's deflection on Nurse's point shot with 2:34 left in regulation broke a 46-game goalless drought for the 37-year-old, completing the 7-1 victory for the Oilers against the league-leading Wild for their fourth straight victory and seventh over their last eight games.

The win in Minnesota was Edmonton's first since February 2019.

"Obviously, it hasn't been the friendliest place to play for us, but we've been playing some really good hockey of late," Hyman said. "So it's good to carry that into tonight and play probably one of our most complete games over 60 minutes. I think they had the best record in the league and are a really good defensive team."