Game Recap: Wild 7, Oilers 4

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Ryan Hartman had a hat trick and two assists for the Minnesota Wild in a 7-4 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday.

It was Hartman’s second NHL hat trick. His other came on Jan. 8, 2017, when he played for the Chicago Blackhawks.

“Felt good, yeah,” Hartman said. “We (Mats Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov) were able to find each other early. We kind of talked about it as a line. We’ve been watching some shifts together, and too many times we were trying to get inside or were forcing it a little bit. You know, I think we’ve kind of been keeping it and waiting for our moment to strike as opposed to forcing it. We’ve been holding onto it and making really good plays. That was the difference tonight.”

Zuccarello and Joel Eriksson Ek each had a goal and an assist, and Kaprizov and Jake Middleton each had three assists for Minnesota (3-2-1), which had lost two in a row. Filip Gustavsson made 24 saves.

Warren Foegele scored twice, Evan Bouchard had a goal and two assists, and Evander Kane had a goal and an assist for Edmonton (1-4-1), which has lost three straight (0-2-1). Jack Campbell made 24 saves.

“Disappointing feeling in here,” Campbell said. “We scored enough to win. They made some really nice plays and capitalized. I’d love to make some more key saves for the guys and get two points.

“The most frustrating part about the game is we did respond. When they went up 5-3, we scored. … Looked like things were going our way and in a blink of an eye they make some good plays. Tough one.”

The Oilers were playing their first game without Connor McDavid, who is out 1-2 weeks with an upper-body injury.

“No one’s going to replace someone like that,” Foegele said. “And we need everyone in here to buy in and bring a little bit more, each of us. He’s a huge part of our team. If we have everyone doing a little bit more, I like our chances of being competitive.”

Bouchard gave Edmonton a 1-0 lead 54 seconds into the first period. He scored with a slap shot from the right point following a face-off win by Leon Draisaitl.

Marco Rossi tied it 1-1 at 7:47, tipping in a pass from Hartman at the edge of the crease.

Foegele put the Oilers ahead 2-1 at 18:27, scoring from the left circle after Bouchard's initial shot caromed to him off Rossi.

Hartman scored 34 seconds later on a rebound in front to tie it 2-2.

Foegele scored his second of the game 32 seconds into the second period to give Edmonton a 3-2 lead.

Pat Maroon nearly tied it at 7:22 on a 2-on-1 with Kaprizov, but Campbell stretched out to make a paddle save.

However, Hartman did tie it 3-3 when he scored 38 seconds into the third period. Kaprizov sent a backhand pass through the slot to Zuccarello, who kicked it to Hartman for a quick shot in front.

“It was frustrating going into the third knowing we should have been up, but we rallied and played really well in the third,” Hartman said.

Zuccarello put Minnesota in front 4-3 off another passing play at 6:48. Hartman passed the puck from behind the net to Kaprizov, who then found Zuccarello in the slot.

“It’s exciting when you win and you contribute and help the team win,” Zuccarello said. “That’s obviously a good night. … You want to get as many wins and play solid games, but obviously it’s nice to contribute.”

Eriksson Ek extended the lead to 5-3 at 10:28 after he curled out from along the goal line.

Kane cut it to 5-4 at 12:55 with a redirection on a power play, but Hartman buried a pass from Middleton off a rush during a 4-on-4 to make it 6-4 at 15:50.

“The easiest thing to do is to go to the negative, and I would say I thought there were a lot of really good signs for our team,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. “It’s disappointing not to close the game out as we were heading to the third period.”

Marcus Foligno scored his first goal of the season into an empty net at 16:37 for the 7-4 final.

“It’s nice to see everybody get looks like that, right? That tells that we’re doing the right things to score goals and scoring goals the right way or chances the right way,” Wild coach Dean Evason said. “… Every line had opportunities. Maybe that (top) line gets more of the points tonight, but if we do that, hopefully it can spread out throughout the entire group.”

NOTES: Hartman's five points tied his NHL career high. His only previous five-point game came on Oct. 5, 2017. ... The Wild scored at least five goals in the third period for the third time in their history. They scored six in the third period of a 6-2 win against the Dallas Stars on Feb. 22, 2015, and five goals in the third period of a 6-1 win against the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 19, 2005. ... Kaprizov recorded his 30th multipoint period, tying Pierre-Marc Bouchard for the fourth most in Wild history. Mikko Koivu (63), Marian Gaborik (54) and Zach Parise (38) are the only others with more. ... Zuccarello extended his season-opening point streak to six games (two goals, seven assists), which is tied for the second longest in Minnesota history, one behind Andrew Brunette (seven in 2009-10). ... Draisaitl finished with two assists. It was his fourth multipoint game in his past five games.