Matt Boldy scored twice to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday at Grand Casino Arena. The victory marked Minnesota's seventh consecutive win and extended their points streak to 14 games at home. Connor McDavid scored for Edmonton, extending his point streak to nine games.
The Minnesota Wild continued their impressive run with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on December 20, 2025, at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota. Matt Boldy opened the scoring at 3:42 of the first period with an unassisted breakaway backhand goal after stealing the puck from Mattias Ekholm, beating goaltender Calvin Pickard. Boldy added his second at 10:56 on the power play, firing a slap shot from the right face-off circle off a feed from Quinn Hughes, who has three points in four games with the Wild since his acquisition from the Vancouver Canucks on December 12.
Andrew Mangiapane cut the deficit to 2-1 at 13:35 by tipping an Evan Bouchard shot in the slot, ending a 21-game scoring drought. McDavid tied the game at 2-2 on the power play at 18:44, poking in a loose puck at the right post for his 11th goal in nine games and 22nd of the season. However, Ryan Hartman restored Minnesota's lead at 19:52 with a give-and-go goal from the low slot off a pass from Jake Middleton, just eight seconds before the intermission.
The second period remained scoreless, with Filip Gustavsson making 28 saves and Pickard stopping 32 shots. In the third, Vladimir Tarasenko extended the lead to 4-2 at 9:08 by tapping in a loose puck in the crease after Pickard's save on Yakov Trenin's shot. Nico Sturm sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 18:35, assisted by Tarasenko.
"I think when we're playing that role well, we do get offense," Boldy said. Wild coach John Hynes noted the competitive nature of the game, while Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch lamented the late first-period goal: "That's a big goal at the end of the first period, one that shouldn't happen." Several Wild players returned from injury, including Mats Zuccarello (two assists), Marcus Johansson, Vinnie Hinostroza, Middleton, and Jonas Brodin. Leon Draisaitl recorded two assists, reaching 50 points this season and matching the Oilers' record for consecutive 50-point seasons at 11. The Oilers finished their five-game road trip 3-2-0.
