Wild double up Oilers, 4-2 Boldy hits for double in win

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In Edmonton, Matt Boldy hit for a double on Friday night to help lead the visiting Minnesota Wild to a 4-2 win over the Oilers..

Filip Gustavsson made 41 saves in the win.

He made 23 of those saves in the third period when the Oilers pressed the issue as they are want to do in most games.

The Wild moved to 27-24-6.

“We didn’t have that offense in the first two periods where we spent a lot of time in their zone, making their top lines get frustrated and spending time defensively,” Gustavsson said. “We let them roll around in our zone and try to sort it out and they had a few chances, and we managed to hold on.

“They have the best player in the world and some other good players too and you expect them to score every night, so you know they are going to push there, they’re so skilled and so good.”

Boldy picked up his first of the game with 23 seconds left in the opening stanza for a 1-0 lead to Minnesota..

“We needed to get the job done and play well, and I thought we played well tonight,” Boldy said. “There was a little bit of a lull in the second period, but you expect that against a team like this and the guys that they have. To be able to weather the storm, and ‘Gus’ made some huge saves, and ‘D’ blocking shots and stuff, and forwards doing a good job. It was a whole team effort, it was nice.

“You can’t let them get their chances, and I thought we did a good job of playing in their zone a decent amount, even though the third period wasn’t great, but to be able to come back and find two goals quick back to back and lock it down from there and play well, it was great.”

Leon Draisaitl knotted the game, 1-1, midway through the second period, scoring off a power play.

The Oilers dropped to 33-19-2.

In the the third period, the Wild turned the tables on the Oilers, scoring three times in the frame.

Minnesota took a 2-1 lead on a strike by Jonas Brodin near the midway point of the third with a shot from the left side.

“This time of year, you have to find ways to win,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “And I thought we did enough to find a way to win tonight.”

Boldy collected his double at 12:18 for a 3-1 lead to the Wild.

“I thought we did a lot of good things, but one thing we didn’t do well was finish,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “There were a lot of pucks that either hit goal posts or trickled wide or were lying around the crease.

“Sometimes those go in and some nights they don’t. Tonight we were unfortunate in that area.”

The Oilers trimmed the deficit to 3-2 on a power play marker from Zach Hyman at 14:51.

The Wild sealed the 4-2 win with with an empty-net goal by Mats Zuccarello with 1:27 left on the game clock.

Calvin Pickard made 16 saves in the loss.