Edmonton 2, Minnesota 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees:
Brad Watson, Jean Hebert
Linesmen:
Ryan Galloway, Vaughan Rody
Attendance:
19044
By SportsDirect Inc.
Oilers 2, Wild 1: Benoit Pouliot scored twice against his former team as visiting Edmonton defeated Devan Dubnyk for the first time in six tries this season.
Ben Scrivens finished with 33 saves while making his fourth straight start for the Oilers, who snapped a two-game skid and posted just their fifth win in 37 contests versus Western Conference opponents (5-23-9). Jordan Eberle set up Pouliot's goals to increase his team lead in both assists (28) and points (43).
Thomas Vanek scored the lone goal for the Wild, who saw their six-game home winning streak come to a halt and fell to 13-3-2 in their last 18 contests overall. Dubnyk turned aside 17 shots while making his 18th consecutive start.
The fourth overall pick by Minnesota in the 2005 draft, Pouliot converted a nifty backdoor feed from Eberle 11:12 into the first period to open the scoring before Vanek swept home Jordan Schroeder's centering feed with 4:46 left. The deadlock was short-lived as Pouliot solved Dubnyk again just 32 seconds later, wristing a shot from the left faceoff circle that sailed under the netminder's left arm.
Pouliot's third multi-goal performance of the season proved to be just enough for Edmonton, which saw Scrivens come up big over the final two periods. The 28-year-old stopped all 28 shots he faced in that span - including 15 in the third as Minnesota pressed for the equalizer.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Prior to the contest, Minnesota acquired LW Sean Bergenheim and a seventh-round pick in the 2016 draft from Florida for a 2016 third-round selection. ... Dubnyk, who played with Edmonton from 2009-14, was trying to become the first goaltender since Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers to defeat one team six times in a season. Lundqvist accomplished the feat versus Philadelphia in 2011-12. ... Edmonton D Jeff Petry logged 19:34 of ice time in his return from a two-game absence due to a rib injury. ... Wild D Jonas Brodin saw his career-best four-game point streak come to an end.
Top Game Performances
| Edmonton |
|
Minnesota |
|
Benoit Pouliot 2 |
Points |
Thomas Vanek 1 |
|
Benoit Pouliot 2 |
Goals |
Thomas Vanek 1 |
|
Jordan Eberle 2 |
Assists |
Charlie Coyle 1 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Ben Scrivens .971 |
Save Percentage |
Devan Dubnyk .895 |
|
Ben Scrivens 33 |
Saves |
Devan Dubnyk 17 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Edmonton
|
19 |
2 |
0-2 |
3-3 |
6 |
26 |
| Minnesota
|
34 |
1 |
0-3 |
2-2 |
4 |
40 |
Upcoming Games
-
Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Nashville. The Wild have a W/L % of .531 after a win and .500 after a loss.
-
Edmonton will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Oilers have a W/L % of .294 after a win and .289 after a loss.
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