GDT Wild vs Oilers 10/21

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WILD (2-2-1) at OILERS (2-2-0)

TV: FS-N (HD), SNET-E (HD)

Season series -- This is the second of six meetings between the Northwest Division foes. The Wild scored four power-play goals, two by Mikko Koivu, on the way to a 4-2 victory on Oct. 14 in Minnesota. Niklas Backstrom made 24 saves in the triumph.

Big story -- The big question surrounding the Oilers of late is whether or not General Manager Steve Tambellini will re-assign left wing Taylor Hall back to Canadian juniors with the Windsor Spitfires before he plays his 10th NHL game. If Tambellini takes that route, Hall's entry-level contract wouldn't kick in this season. In four games, Hall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 Entry Draft, has produced 1 assist and a minus-1 rating on a line with center Shawn Horcoff and fellow rookie Jordan Eberle. He's averaged 20 shifts a game and 15:41 of ice time.

"He's going to be here all year unless somebody tells me otherwise," Edmonton coach Tom Renney told the Edmonton Journal. "That's a conversation you'd have down the road if, in fact, there was something that seems consistent in his game that really prevents him from moving forward. I'm not there.

"I think he'll just get better (and) that's an assimilation we're prepared to work with. And not just with him but others in our lineup in a year where we think we can afford to do that and, quite honestly, we need to."

Team Scope:

Wild -- Minnesota's offense erupted on Tuesday in a victory over the Vancouver Canucks and, in the process, forced All-Star goalie Roberto Luongo to an early exit after notching 6 goals on 18 shots through two periods on the way to a 6-2 triumph. The Wild saw 12 players record at least one point and the club went 3-for-3 on the power-play. Defenseman Marek Zidlicky had a goal and 2 assists, center Matt Cullen produced his fourth 2-point game and center John Madden notched his first goal with the Wild.

Oilers -- Following back-to-back wins over Calgary and Florida to open the season, the Oilers dropped consecutive games to Minnesota and Calgary. In their 5-3 loss to the Flames, the Oilers were outshot, 46-30 and finished 0-for-5 on the power-play. Renney is preaching patience, not panic.

"There are things now that we have to eliminate from our game, no question about that, but we have to stick with it and make sure the guys understand that," Renney said. "We can recognize parts of players' games, and our game in general, we just cannot have. I think that the Edmonton fan will remind us of that, if anybody does."

Who's hot -- Edmonton left wing Dustin Penner has totaled 3 goals and a plus-2 rating in four games. … Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom has started all five games and is 2-2-1 with a 2.38 goals-against average and .920 save percentage.

Injury report -- Oilers wing Jean-Francois Jacques (back) remains out indefinitely. … The Wild are without forwards Pierre-Marc Bouchard (post-concussion syndrome) and James Sheppard (broken kneecap) and goalie Josh Harding (torn MCL/ACL).

Stat pack -- One area in particular that Renney would like to see improvement is on faceoffs. The Oilers are currently ranked 29th in the League with a 40.2 efficiency. In their last game against the Flames, Penner went 1-for-9, Sam Gagner went 2-for-13, Andrew Cogliano was 0-for-5 and Colin Fraser went 2-for-8.

Puck drop -- Look for backup goalie Jose Theodore, who signed with Minnesota as a free agent on Oct. 1, to get his first start in goal against Edmonton or in Vancouver on Friday.

"I'm just anxious to get back in there," said Theodore. "You can cheer from the bench and cheer in games, but you want to be out there and helping your teammates

Good to see Jose get to go tonight, Wild win it against a not so awesome Oiler team 2-1

they just all twittilated that Backs is taking shots/getting the start...

Russostrib: Looks like Niklas Backstrom gets the nod tonight for #mnwild. Meaning Jose Theodore's first start likely comes tomorrow in Vancouver

mnwild: Backstrom taking shots from D, meaning he's likely starter for tonight for #mnwild



dammit I was stoked to see Jose get a start.. guess we gotta wait till the Nucks game?

yeah it appears so. thats alright, would rather have Jose in against a more competitive/threatening team. although Nik did well against the Nucks Tuesday night.

Wild win 3-2 they need to prove that the team is motivated, that they got the message long term and that they want to win, this team is good enough to make the playoffs they just need to play it.

My main fear is that we might be looking toward the Vancouver game, if we can get a win tonight and a OTL tomorrow this would have been a good trip, going 2-0 would be awesome but 3/4 points i think is a near must to keep this team going positive.

Bruno talked about there being a cloud, this is how you blow the cloud away, you do small things right, you build on a good performance and you get some confidence you string a streak together and you go from there.

the vancouver game was the first one i have gotten to see of the season and they seemed to be clicking. but focus on the word seemed.

After I watch tonights game I think I'll get a better feel for this team, and again it might not be fair because it is the oilers and they aren't that great either.

i just hope they play aggressive and get a W.

This team can be so good, the Clutterbuck goal was started by a good hustle and play by Lats, great passing and crashing the net. Effort is the team's curse, they are good enough to pressure and create chances, but are also bad enough to get schooled.

One thing i want to see is less penalties taken, we got lucky we went 1/6 vs Vancouver but we cannot afford to go a man down so much.

excellent win for us last night. It looked like these guys were flying around the ice too, very uncharacteristic of MN Wild hockey.

VAN/MN GDT coming up soon.

stop talking to yourself all the time you lonely fuck

hey Norm, will you continue voting for the Republican party? How is the computer industry treating you? Can Ceh and I drive by Quant Ave N to find your Audi parked outside?