National Hockey League
Minnesota 5, Edmonton 3
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, February 21, 2020
Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta
Referees: Dan O'Rourke, Chris Schlenker
Linesmen: Michel Cormier, Ryan Daisy
Attendance: 17055

Defenseman Jared Spurgeon scored his first career hat trick as the Minnesota Wild defeated the host Edmonton Oilers 5-3 Friday night.

Kevin Fiala and Carson Soucy also scored for the Wild, who improved to 2-1-0 under interim coach Dean Evason and completed a season sweep of the Oilers. Goaltender Alex Stalock made 23 saves.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice and Leon Draisaitl also tallied for Edmonton, which lost both games on its homestand. Goalie Mikko Koskinen stopped 34 of 38 shots.

Spurgeon scored the go-ahead goal at 10:07 of the third period, putting a backhander from the bottom of the left faceoff circle toward the net. The puck deflected off the stick of Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson and just inside the left post.

Spurgeon added an empty-netter at 18:22 of the third, just after getting out of the penalty box.

The teams traded goals for the first two periods, with the Oilers taking the lead three times, only to see the Wild tie it.

Nugent-Hopkins opened the scoring just 50 seconds into the game, taking a pass from Kailer Yamamoto and ripping a wrist shot past Stalock from the right faceoff circle.

The Wild tied it at 8:25 as Fiala corralled the rebound of Ryan Suter's shot from the left point and moved across the top of the crease, going to his backhand to slip the puck into a nearly empty net.

Nugent-Hopkins scored his second at 13:04, taking a cross-ice pass from Yamamoto as the trailer on a three-on-two-break and beating Stalock with a wrist shot.

Soucy tied the score at 2-2 at 5:48 of the second, with a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle into the upper right corner of the net.

The Oilers regained the lead at 8:01 as Draisaitl tried to make a centering pass from behind the net that deflected off the heel of Minnesota's Jordan Greenway and into the upper left corner.

Spurgeon tied it at 3-3 at 10:55 of the second, hammering a slap shot from the right faceoff dot off the left post and into the net.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   Edmonton
Jared Spurgeon 3 Points Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 3
Jared Spurgeon 3 Goals Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 2
Alex Galchenyuk 2 Assists Kailer Yamamoto 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Alex Stalock .885 Save Percentage Mikko Koskinen .895
Alex Stalock 23 Saves Mikko Koskinen 34
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Minnesota 39 5 0-2 2-2 4 22
Edmonton 26 3 0-2 2-2 4 30
Upcoming Games
  • Edmonton will play their next game on the road against Los Angeles. The Oilers have a W/L % of .438 after a win and .621 after a loss.
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Wild have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .531 after a loss.