CENOVUS GAME STORY

Under the Scope: Oilers vs. Wild

An in-depth look at Edmonton's 4-1 win over Minnesota Thursday night.

Friday, 23.12.2011 / 12:53 AM / Cenovus Game Story
By Travis Knee  - edmontonoilers.com


The Oilers needed a fast start in a game and they got just that. Looking for a win before the Christmas break, the Oilers got first period goals from Jordan Eberle and Ryan Smyth to grab an early 2-0 lead. They would go on to win 4-1 and head into the holiday on a winning note.

The Oilers record now stands at 15-16-3 as they get ready to embark on a long road trip starting on Boxing day.


All you need to know and more as we go Under the Scope:

After a couple failed powerplay attempts, the Oilers were able to burry one with the man advantage courtesy of Jordan Eberle. Eberle snuck into the slot and wristed one blocker side on Niklas Backstrom. That would give Edmonton the 1-0 lead and they would not look back en route to a 4-1 win.
38 The faceoff winning percentage for the Oilers overall in tonight's game. Despite the win they won only 20 of 52 draws.
36 Jordan Eberle now takes sole lead of the team's scoring race with 36 points in 34 games.
11 The number of Minnesota Wild players that had a minus rating in tonight's game.
12:49 The Wild had over 12 minutes of powerplay time in this game and failed to register a goal with the man advantage.
 


Jordan Eberle
G A P +/- Shots
2 0 2 +1 4


Nikolai Khabibulin
SA SV GA TOI SV%
31 30 1 59:57 .968



Ryan Smyth
G A P +/- Shots
1 0 1 +1 4



 
WILD
Niklas Backstrom
SA SV GA TOI SV%
31 27 4 60:00 .871
OILERS
Nikolai Khabibulin
SA SV GA TOI SV%
31 30 1 59:57 .968



 
 WILD
  Marco Scandella- D

23:52 - 0 PTS, -1 rating
OILERS
  Tom Gilbert- D

24:12 - 1 PTS, +1 rating

Lennart Petrell doesn't score often but he sure had a beauty tonight. With the Oilers already leading 2-0, Petrell broke down the middle shorthanded in the second period and blasted a perfectly placed slapshot top corner for his third goal of the year.

WATCH THE GOAL

Jordan Eberle continues to bring his game to another level. The young Oilers star was at it again tonight notching two goals to help the Oilers snap a four-game losing streak. Eberle was a threat all game and is emerging as the offensive leader for this club.

Nikolai Khabibulin had the luxary of playing with the lead the entire game, that doesn't mean he wasen't sharp. Khabby made big saves when called upon for his 11th win of the year. Khabibulin would stop 30 of 31 shots he faced in all.

The Oilers had not beaten the Wild at home since the 09-10 season. The Wild had won the first two meetings here this year in a shootout as well as all three at Rexall last year. It is nice for Oilers fans to finally see a home win over the division rival.
 


"It eases your mind, we can take this momentum forward"

-- Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on the team's big pre-holiday win tonight.


Monday, December 26  vs. Vancouver
  8:00pm MDT (SNET / 630 CHED)

The Oilers will follow up the Christmas break with a seven-game road trip. They will start in Vancouver for their third meeting of the year against the Canucks. The teams have split the season series so far with both games being played in Edmonton. The game can be seen live on Sportsnet West.


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Author: Travis Knee | edmontonoilers.com