Game Recap: Wild 5, Oilers 3

EDMONTON – Frederick Gaudreau had two goals and an assist for the Minnesota Wild in a 5-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Thursday.

Kirill Kaprizov had an assist to extend his road point streak to a franchise record 11 games (eight goals, 16 assists) for the Wild (13-3-3), who have won three in a row. Marcus Foligno had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Hartman had two assists. Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves and passed Patrick Roy for the third-most games played by a goalie in NHL history (1,030).

“I haven’t played in two weeks,” said Fleury, whose last appearance came in a 5-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 7. “And I wanted to get off to a good start and have a good game.”

Corey Perry had a goal and an assist, and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers (10-9-2), who have lost three of four (1-2-1). Stuart Skinner made 21 saves.

“I thought right off the bat that it felt like we didn’t really have the same jump that they did,” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “I think they had a little more juice, and that showed up in the game and it is up to us to basically be better and come better prepared.

“It is that time of year now where if you can just bear down and show up with an effort every night, you can get some, I’m not saying free points, but you can get some points and get rolling. Obviously, that is what we are looking to do and tonight wasn’t enough.”

Draisaitl gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead just 27 seconds into the first period. His pass intended for Connor McDavid in the defensive zone bounced off Kaprizov, rolled up the ice toward the crease, and snuck under Fleury as he tried to sweep it away with his stick.

“It can happen to anyone. It’s just such a tough bounce,” Wild forward Marcus Johansson said. “I think it bounced by three guys, so it was something that you almost just laugh off and start over.

“Stuff like that happens in hockey over a year and I feel like you laugh it off and ‘Flower’ did too. He was unbelievable tonight. It was fun to see.”

Matt Boldy tied it 1-1 at 9:56 with a wrist shot from the high slot that went under Skinner’s glove.

“Credit to Matt Boldy. Honestly, ‘Bolds’ has been playing like a beast this season. Can’t say enough good things about him,” Foligno said. “I just think that shows the character and how the season has started for us.

“I think you get guys that are mentally engaged and wanting to pick up for their teammates, and Matt Boldy’s been our best player really for the start of the season.”

Foligno put Minnesota ahead 2-1 at 3:09 of the second period, stuffing in a rebound at the top of the crease after a point shot by Declan Chisholm.

Perry tied it 2-2 at 6:03, banking in a wraparound off the skate of Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin.

“Our goalie is seeing too many shots and we are trying to be too cute with our perimeter game. It just doesn’t work,” Perry said. “I don’t think we are far off, it is just the compete level. It’s just a matter of competing, night-in, night-out. Some nights we look great when we do it and when we don’t, it’s ugly.

“They definitely outcompeted us tonight.”

Johansson gave Minnesota a 3-2 lead at 9:10 with a snap shot from below the right circle.

Gaudreau made it 4-2 at 17:02, beating Skinner with a snap shot from the bottom of the right circle off a seam pass from Hartman.

Gaudreau then pushed it to 5-2 at 9:50 when he put in the rebound of Jake Middleton’s wrist shot off a 2-on-1 rush.

Jeff Skinner scored a redirection at the left post at 19:35 for the 5-3 final.

“I definitely believe in this team. I think we should be better than our record, but it’s a hard game,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “You need good players, but you need good players working hard. Collectively, we can do more. Overall, we have to find ways to score goals.

“You need skill to do that but you also need some grit, simplifying your game and going hard to the net.”

Notes: After passing Roy, Fleury is behind only Roberto Luongo (1,044) Martin Brodeur (1,266). ... Kaprizov extended his point streak to seven games (six goals, seven assists) ... Boldy pushed his point streak to five games (three goals, two assists) ... With 4:23 left in the second period, Kaprizov went down following a knee-on-knee collision with Drake Caggiula but did not leave the game. “Obviously frustrating seeing that happen, and to us, from our angle, it didn’t look like a good hit,” Wild head coach John Hynes said. ... Kasperi Kapanen made his Oilers debut after being claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. He had one shot on goal in 12:10.