2009-10 Game Sixty-Nine: Wild 4, Oilers 2

The Minnesota Wild had an opportunity to match the mark for the longest current home win streak against any opponent. Coming into the game, the Wild had beaten the Edmonton Oilers twelve times in a row at St. Paul. After the game was over, the Wild had tied the mark, thanks to a strong all-around game, especially with some great play by the team's centers.

Those centers might have been feeling a little pressure, given that the Wild signed a college free agent who could be looking to take a job away from one of them. Minnesota brought Casey Wellman from the University of Massachusetts, and almost played him in his first chance. Wellman's debut was put on hold, but he did get some time to skate with the team during warm-ups, and might see time in the upcoming game against the Nashville Predators. Meanwhile, the rest of the Wild stepped up, and responded in a huge way after Edmonton twice tied the game. This was especially notable given how the on-ice officials almost seemed to be trying to hand the Oilers the win. Don't believe it? Watch the play that lead to the eventual 5-on-3 Edmonton power play, and try and find two clear penalties in that scrum.

Game pluses:
- Centers. On a day where the Wild added a coveted player (beating out 21 other teams) to their center ranks, the team's current line-up of centers stepped up in a big way. Strong play is expected out of Mikko Koivu, but Andrew Ebbett notched a multi-point game, Kyle Brodziak was forechecking, and James Sheppard showed a compete level that he hasn't shown often this season.
- Martin Havlat. The Wild winger keeps finding ways to get himself into the quiet areas on the ice, and he was rewarded with a big insurance goal.
- Chuck Kobasew. Kobasew hadn't scored since his hat trick the day after Thanksgiving. A nice way to break that streak is to put home the game winning goal, especially after Edmonton kept clawing back in.

Game minuses:
- Officiating. It was yet another lousy game called by the officials, with plenty of bad or missed calls going both ways. Still, the penalties that put Edmonton on a 5-on-3 jump out as some of the worst ones. Yes, there was a penalty on that call. But the second?
- Late defense. The Wild held on at the end of the game, but they certainly didn't help themselves by giving up 20 shots to the Oilers in the third period. This was the first time gave up that many shots in one period all season.
- Antti Miettinen. Yes, Miettinen scored. However, he also missed on some great chances, by putting the puck too far or too high. He may not be a sniper, but for a team that could use more scoring, being that badly off target has to change.

Next up: The Wild try to roll off their fourth win in a row, and keep moving themselves up the standings, when they face the Nashville Predators next.