NHL Game of the Week

On Wednesday night, two of the Western Conference’s top four teams will meet as the Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild meet at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota for the final of three games against each other this season.

The road teams have won the first two games, with the Wild winning 5-3 in Edmonton, Alberta on November 21, 2024 and the Oilers winning 7-1 in St. Paul on December 12, 2024.

This game can’t be discussed without mentioning two main candidates for the Hart Trophy, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov.

McDavid has heated up as the Oilers have, scoring seven points in their last seven games and 23 in 13 December games.

Kaprizov hasn’t played since December 23, 2024 due to a lower-body injury, which has allowed McDavid and the Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon to catch up in the Hart Trophy race.

There is a chance for Kaprizov to return Wednesday, though the Wild want to ensure he’s 100% healthy.

The Oilers, with 57 points, second in the Pacific Division and fourth in the Western Conference, have won six of their last seven games.

Leon Draisaitl has been one of the top point scorers since December 31, 2024 with five goals and four assists in seven games.

Evan Bouchard has been another solid contributor for the Oilers with seven goals and 25 assists this season.

On the other hand, the Wild, with 58 points, are second in the Central Division and third in the Western Conference. They’ve also won five of their last six.

One of the four players who has scored more than Draisaitl since December 31, 2024 is 37-year-old Mats Zuccarello, who’s tallied four goals and six assists in seven games.

Marco Rossi and Matthew Boldy are two skaters who have stepped up in the absence of Kaprizov, with nine and six points in their last seven games, respectively.

The goalies who lost the first two games between these teams are on track to start Wednesday.

Stuart Skinner of the Oilers and Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson allowed five goals on 26 shots in their respective defeats, with the latter pulled after two periods.

Skinner has two shutout wins in his last three games, while Gustavsson has struggled mightily over his last three games to the tune of 14 goals allowed and a .829 save percentage.

Draisaitl scored five points in the first two games against Minnesota, the most by a player on either team in the season series.

Draisaitl scored in each game and tallied three assists in the second meeting between Minnesota and Edmonton. Frédérick Gaudreau leads the Wild in scoring against the Oilers this season with three goals and one assist.

The Oilers will travel to Denver to face the Avalanche the next day, while the Wild follow up this game with a trip to Nashville to face the lowly Predators on Saturday.

This game will be broadcast at 8:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday on TNT and truTV and streamed on Max.

All stats and point totals are as of before the games on January 14, 2025.

Owen Klein is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ojk5092@psu.edu.