Music: {allcanada} Edmonton (11-8-2) at Minnesota (13-5-3)

Thursday, November 24, 2011

{allcanada} Edmonton (11-8-2) at Minnesota (13-5-3)

Edmonton (11-8-2) at Minnesota (13-5-3)

TV: RSW, FSNO

Puck Drop: 4:00 pm EST Fri Nov 25, 2011

The Minnesota Wild have had some exciting finishes lately, but the important thing is that they've been winning.

Their recent meetings with the Edmonton Oilers may have lacked the same drama, but the result has been the same.

Looking to win six straight overall for the first time in more than four years, the Wild also seek to extend their run of dominance over the Oilers to nine Friday.

Minnesota (13-5-3) is riding its second five-game winning streak in less than a month. The last three of those victories have all come by one-goal margins, including a 3-2 home win over Nashville on Wednesday.

The Wild, who scored the tying goal with less than two minutes remaining in Saturday's 3-2 shootout win over St. Louis, trailed the Predators 1-0 before scoring three consecutive goals in the third period.

"I think if you were watching the game there was a pretty good sense we were going to do it eventually," said Minnesota forward Cal Clutterbuck (notes), whose short-handed tally was his fifth point in the last six games. "That's the thing. That's why we're succeeding right now is just the resilience. They didn't have enough gas to keep up. We put one in and there's no looking back from there."

Seven of Minnesota's 13 wins this season have come when trailing or tied after two periods. That's tied with Dallas for the most such wins in the NHL.

There could be less drama against the Oilers on Friday. Minnesota has outscored Edmonton 27-11 during an eight-game winning streak in this series. They've also won eight straight at home against the Oilers.

Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom (notes) missed Wednesday's game for personal reasons, but was back on the ice practicing Thursday. He is 20-2-1 with a 1.66 goals-against average versus the Oilers and has won six straight starts against them, including two this season in which he gave up two total goals.

The Wild have not won six in a row since a franchise-best nine-game run March 8-24, 2007.

The Oilers (11-8-2) will try to string a pair of strong efforts together after winning 6-2 at Nashville on Tuesday.

Edmonton defeated Chicago 9-2 last Saturday, but then lost 4-1 to Dallas on Monday. The Oilers haven't won consecutive games since a season-high six-game winning streak Oct. 22-Nov. 3.

"Consistency is a problem for the coach," coach Tom Renney said. "We have to identify with a standard of play and a commitment to do the little things every night.

"When we do that we are fine. But we have a tendency to give the puck up. We turn it over and we try to get fancy," he said. "There are no style points on the NHL. We have to play a simple game, especially on the road."

Jordan Eberle (notes) had a pair of goals and an assist in the victory over the Predators. He has 10 points in his last five games.