Andrew Brunette of the Minnesota Wild, left, celebrates his goal past Edmonton Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson in the first period of Minnesota's 3-2 win on Sunday. (Jimmy Jeong/Canadian Press)In a game the Edmonton Oilers desperately needed to win, they were badly outplayed in the first two periods, losing to the visiting Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Sunday at Rexall Place.
Marion Gaborik had a goal and an assist, and goalie Niklas Backstrom stopped 31 of 33 shots to secure the victory for Minnesota, which keeps the Wild alive in the playoff hunt.
"I'm happy for this team," Backstrom said. "We are never going to give up. That is not what we are all about. We have come back in different games and hope that we can do that in the standings right now."
The Wild (36-32-8), playing less than 24 hours after losing 3-2 to the Calgary Flames, controlled the play for most of the game, jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Andrew Brunette and Martin Skoula in a 1:51 span in the first period.
Brunnette's goal came off a rebound after Gaborik fanned on the shot, and Skoula scored with a weak wrist shot from the blue-line. Oilers goalie Dwayne Roloson felt that he should have stopped both and blamed himself for the loss.
"It's pretty much my fault, isn't it?" said Roloson, who made 31 saves. "Two bad goals. You don't let those two bad goals in and you win the game. I have to do my job and stop the puck. If I did that tonight, then we would have won, case closed."
Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said it's a bit unfair to pin the blame on Roloson.
"We played poorly and got what we deserved," he said. "Too many guys are too content to be a non-factor rather than be a factor and step up and be assertive in a game that you desperately need. With six games left, we are still looking for a team that will take charge of an opportunity."
Edmonton perks up in 3rd
The Oilers (36-31-9) finally came to life with goals from Fernando Pisani and Ales Kotalik in the third period, but Gaborik's goal at 4:13 of the final frame held up as the winner.
Heading into the third period down 2-0, the Oilers knew they needed to start crashing the net and winning some of the battles on the boards.
Hard work and speed led to Pisani's goal at 1:04 of the third. Forward Ethan Moreau carried the puck wide on the rush, dishing it to the front of the net, where Pisani banged it in.
Despite allowing Gaborik to restore the Wild's two-goal advantage just three minutes later, the Oilers seemed to have the momentum in the third frame. When Kotalik scored on a one-timer with five minutes remaining, the Oilers started to approach every faceoff with a renewed sense of urgency.
Edmonton outshot Minnesota 16-4 in the third period.
But with the goalie pulled in the final minute, the Oilers couldn't get anything past Backstrom.
Wild coach Jacques Lemaire credited much of the win to Backstrom's play, especially in the third. "We were lucky that we had him," he said. "He was really on his game there. Especially at the end."
The Oilers had fallen out of a playoff spot earlier in the day, when St. Louis downed Columbus 5-2 to take over eighth place in the Western Conference. Anaheim also leap-frogged past the Oilers on Sunday by beating Colorado 4-1.
Edmonton is now in 10th place, two points out of a playoff spot and just one point ahead of Minnesota.
Both teams have six games remaining and return to action on Tuesday, with Edmonton hosting Anaheim, and Minnesota returning home to play Vancouver.
The Oilers may be without defenceman Ladislav Smid for their next game. He left Sunday's game in the second period with a fractured left hand and did not return.
With files from the Canadian Press
