Talbot, Oilers beat Wild to end skid

Cam Talbot made 35 saves as the Edmonton Oilers snapped a six-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory against the host Minnesota Wild on Thursday night. Darnell Nurse, Ty Rattie, Leon Draisaitl and Zack Kassian scored for the Oilers, whose skid matched their season-worst. Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had two assists.

The Oilers finally clamped down defensively after surrendering three or more goals in each game during their losing streak. Joel Eriksson Ek, recalled from Iowa of the American Hockey League on Wednesday, scored the lone goal for the Wild, who dropped to 0-2-2 since the All-Star break. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk stopped 19 of 22 shots.

The Wild were playing their first game since it was announced captain Mikko Koivu would miss the rest of the season. Koivu suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his knee in a 5-4 shootout loss Tuesday at Buffalo. Nurse gave the Oilers the lead just 2:15 into the first period on the game's first shot. McDavid took a pass from Kassian and drove down the left wing before pulling up and feeding the puck back to Nurse at the left point. Nurse's rising slap shot beat Dubnyk high to the glove side.

Rattie doubled the advantage at 4:32 of the second. The Oilers forced a turnover at their own blue line, sending Nugent-Hopkins on a two-on-one break down the left wing. Nugent-Hopkins waited until he reached the faceoff circle in the offensive end and flipped a pass to Rattie at the top of the slot, and he tipped the puck into the net. Eriksson Ek pulled the Wild within 2-1 at 2:50 of the third period. Jason Zucker gained control of the puck behind the Edmonton net and fed Eriksson Ek at the top of the slot, and his one-timer left Talbot with no chance.

The Oilers restored their two-goal advantage when Draisaitl scored at 5:35 of the third, and Kassian added an empty-netter at 18:40. --Field Level Media

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