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

Troy Stecher skating for the Edmonton Oilers
Photo: Hector Urcia l Inside the Rink

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.

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:

Edmonton Oilers Lines:

RNH – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Kapanen
Skinner-Henrique-Janmark
Perry-Ryan-Brown

Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Stecher
Kulak-Emberson

Pickard
Skinner

Minnesota Wild Lines:

Kaprizov-Rossi-Boldy
Foligno-Hartman-Johansson
Lauko-Gaudreau-Trenin
Shore-Khusnutdinov-Jones

Middleton-Faber
Chisholm-Spurgeon
Merrill-Bogosian

Gustavsson
Fleury

Where to Watch/Listen: Oilers vs. Wild

ESPN+
HULU
SNW
630 CHED
KFAN FM 100.3

ITR 36: Coaching Carousel Inside The Rink

Join Conrad and Chris as they discuss another batch of coaching departures and update on the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
  1. ITR 36: Coaching Carousel
  2. ITR 35: Round One
  3. ITR 34: End Of The Road
  4. ITR 33: The Gr8 One
  5. ITR 32: The Final Countdown

Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Matthew Buhrmann

Covering Cincinnati Cyclones l Student @uofcincy l @Mbuhrmann61 on X

One thought on “NHL Game Preview: Edmonton Oilers at Minnesota Wild with Line Combinations | 12/12/2024”

Leave a Reply

IIHF U18: USA, Sweden Set for High-Stakes Semifinal Rematch

After a thrilling 6–3 victory over Sweden in group play, Team USA and Team Sweden are set to meet again—this time with a trip to the gold-medal game on the line. The Americans come in riding a dominant stretch of tournament success, having reached the semifinal round in 22 of the last 23 IIHF Under-18 […]

Read More
Logan Thompson in net for the Washington Capitals

Opinion: Logan Thompson Continues to Shine for the Capitals

It is amazing just how much things have changed for the Washington Capitals since they got knocked out by the New York Rangers in the first round of last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. This season, the Capitals were the best team in the Metropolitan Division, the Eastern Conference, and had the league’s second best record […]

Read More

NHL Playoff Game Preview: Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues with Line Combinations (02/05/2025)

Winnipeg Jets (3-2-0) at St Louis Blues (2-3-0) Venue: Enterprise CenterDate: Tonight – Friday, May 2ndTime: 7:00 pm CST TV: Sportsnet, CBC, TVASRadio: 680 CJOB (Winnipeg) & 101 ESPN (St. Louis) Purchase tickets via Ticketmaster St. Louis Blues News & Notes: The St. Louis Blues head back home to Enterprise Center tonight as they face […]

Read More