Oilers at Wild
Despite their 4-7-1 record in April, the Minnesota Wild can clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2008 with a win in their home finale. The Wild, who are eighth in the Western Conference, host the Edmonton Oilers on Friday with a chance to sweep their Northwest Division rival for the second time in three seasons. Minnesota defeated the Oilers 3-1 on Feb. 21, 4-2 on March 3 and 5-3 on April 16, improving to 13-2-0 in the last 15 meetings between the clubs. The Wild snapped a five-game home winless streak (0-4-1) with a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. Niklas Backstrom stopped 22 shots for the win in his 13th consecutive start, marking the first time in five outings he allowed fewer than three goals.
Edmonton is in a tailspin, with nine losses in its last 10 games. The Oilers’ only victory in that span came on the road against the Colorado Avalanche, who sit four points behind them at the bottom of the conference. Edmonton has been blanked twice during its slump and has been held to one goal in six other contests. Other than the 4-1 victory over the Avalanche and the 5-3 loss to the Wild, Edmonton’s offense - and its power play - has disappeared. The Oilers’ only goal with the man advantage in the last eight games came in the loss to Minnesota. Edmonton is 2-for-33 on the power play since going 3-for-5 against the Calgary Flames on April 3.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Rogers Sportsnet West (Edmonton), FSN North Plus, FSN Wisconsin (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE OILERS (17-22-7): Taylor Hall and rookie Nail Yakupov are the only Edmonton players scoring with consistency. Hall leads the team with 11 points this month, even though he was held off the scoresheet in the last two games, while Yakupov has scored six of his 12 goals in April - including the only tally in a 4-1 loss to Chicago on Wednesday. Devan Dubnyk is 3-6-0 this month and has allowed at least three goals in four of his last five starts. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins underwent successful shoulder surgery this week and should be ready for the start of training camp. Defenseman Ryan Whitney missed Wednesday’s game with a leg injury and is day-to-day.
ABOUT THE WILD (25-18-3): Los Angeles captain Dustin Brown was suspended two games for elbowing Minnesota’s Jason Pominville in the head on Tuesday. Pominville, who leads the Wild with nine points since joining the team at the trade deadline, is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. If Minnesota is without Pominville, it will need rookie Charlie Coyle to continue his recent production. Coyle has recorded four goals in April and three points in the last four games while getting time on a line with Zach Parise and captain Mikko Koivu. Parise has five points in his last six games, while Koivu has three in the three previous contests against the Oilers.
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota is one point behind seventh-place Detroit in the West and is even in points with Columbus but owns the tiebreaker. The Wild have two games remaining, while both the Red Wings and Blue Jackets have one.
2. Edmonton has won once in its last 20 games at Minnesota, posting a 1-17-2 record in that span. The Oilers’ one victory came last season - a 5-2 triumph on Nov. 25, 2011.
3. Minnesota finishes its season on Saturday at Colorado, while the Oilers host the Vancouver Canucks.
PREDICTION: Wild 4, Oilers 2