NHL: Edmonton Oilers at Minnesota Wild – Source: Imagn

The Edmonton Oilers are attempting to continue their second straight resurgence to a season after a dreadful start, and they gained additional ground in the Western Conference postseason race with a dominating victory on Thursday night.

They pounded the Minnesota Wild, winning by a final score of 7-1 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. With the win, the Oilers improved their record to 17-10-2, while the Wild, who are enjoying a bounce-back campaign, suffered only their sixth loss of the season (19-6-4).

Zach Hyman opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the season, scoring on the man advantage to give the Oilers the 1-0 lead. Kasperi Kapanen increased the lead to 2-0 with his third goal, while the Wild halved the lead thanks to Frederick Gaudreau’s sixth goal.

While shorthanded, Connor Brown netted his fourth goal, increasing Edmonton’s lead to 3-1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl scored back-to-back goals later in the second period, followed by goals from Troy Stecher and Derek Ryan; the latter was his first of the season.

Calvin Pickard finished with 29 saves in a winning effort for the Oilers, while Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson was yanked after yielding five goals on 26 shots; Marc-Andre Fleury entered the game and made seven saves on the nine shots he faced.

3 most impressive Edmonton Oilers players from 7-1 win over Minnesota Wild feat. Leon Draisaitl

#1. Leon Draisaitl

The Oilers are truly fortunate to boast two of the best players on Earth in Connor McDavid and Draisiatl, whom most teams would kill for to have even one on their roster.

With his goal and three assists, Draisaitl continues to enjoy another highly productive year; he has 21 goals and 21 assists.

#2. Zach Hyman

Many fans were left wondering if Zach Hyman’s breakout campaign of 54 goals last season was an anomaly, especially considering how sluggish he began this season.

And while he recently missed five games with an injury, Hyman has slowly but surely begun to pick up his offensive game. His goal on Thursday was his sixth of the season; while he’s on pace to reach nowhere near last season’s total of 54, the more he’s able to score, the more confident that he’ll get.

#3. Calvin Pickard

Edmonton’s backup goaltender, who was re-signed to a new contract during the offseason, put together another solid performance between the pipes with 29 saves; he kept the Wild at bay, setting the stage for his teammates’ blowout offensive performance.

The Oilers will look to continue their winning momentum when they host the Vegas Golden Knights at Rogers Place on Saturday.