NHL Game Preview: Edmonton Oilers at Minnesota Wild with Line Combinations | 12/12/2024

Troy Stecher skating for the Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers (16-10-2) will face the Minnesota Wild (19-5-4) tonight at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, with the puck drop scheduled for 6:30 PM MT (8:30 PM ET). This is the second meeting between the two teams this season; the Wild won the first game 5-3 in Edmonton on November 21st. The Oilers are on a three-game winning streak, having swept their recent homestand with victories over Columbus, St. Louis, and Tampa Bay. The Wild last played on Tuesday night, coming from behind to defeat Utah HC 5-4 in a shootout, with goaltender Filip Gustavsson saving all three shootout attempts.

As the teams’ head into tonight’s game, Kirill Kaprizov ranks second in total points in the NHL with 43, trailing only Nathan MacKinnon, who has 46. Oilers star Connor McDavid is not far behind with 38 points, despite suffering an ankle injury a month and a half ago. Meanwhile, Leon Draisaitl leads the league in goals with 20, having regained the lead on Tuesday night against the Lightning. Kaprizov follows in third place with 18 goals, also scoring on Tuesday against Utah.

First to #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/mMQ2TvKPzg
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 11, 2024

Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Minnesota has won 11 of the last 13 meetings against Edmonton, outscoring them 51-23 at even strength. Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner has been outstanding lately, stopping 21 of 22 shots to secure his recent win. He currently holds a record of 4-1-0, with a 1.41 goals-against average, a .947 save percentage, and 4.85 goals saved above expected over his last five starts. The Oilers are hoping to secure their first win in Minnesota since February 7, 2019, having lost their last six visits to the Xcel Energy Center.

Edmonton Head Coach Kris Knoblauch previews tonight’s matchup: