EDMONTON, AB — Goaltender Cam Talbot made 38 saves against his former team and the Minnesota Wild shut down the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 on Tuesday for their seventh straight victory.
Joel Eriksson Ek broke the ice with a power play goal less than two minutes into the first period, and later added an assist. Marcus Foligno, Victor Rask and Dmitry Kulikov also scored for the Wild, who are off to the best start in franchise history with 37 points through 25 games.
"Of course, it gives you a little bit of momentum to play with the lead," Eriksson Ek told NHL.com. "I think to get that goal was good for our confidence to start that way, take a lead early and build on it."
The Wild have chalked up seven consecutive wins overall and have scored first in six of those seven.
"I think that power-play goal really helped us mentally," said Wild coach Dean Evason. "We've had some good looks ... but to get rewarded gives the guys a jump. But to get up on a team like this is obviously crucial and it set us up tonight to finish the game properly."
Jesse Puljujarvi scored for the Oilers, who have now lost three in a row.
Of some concern is what seems like is becoming a patter of second period letdowns. After coming out and jumping on the Oilers in the first period, the Wild spent most of the second on their heels, with Talbot turning back shot after shot by Edmonton's skilled attack.
Talbot played two years for the Oilers before being traded to Philadelphia, signing with Calgary and then landing in Minnesota. It was only the second time he'd faced his former club since leaving Edmonton.
"I've been back in this building a couple times but never got to start," Talbot said. "It's nice. This place will always have a place in our heart, we started our family here and it was a great building to play in. Still have a lot of friends here so it's one of those things that you look forward to coming back every time. Obviously it's more fun when you get a big win."
Minnesota continues its road trip against the Sharks in San Jose Thursday night.
