grandforksherald
The all-but-unbeatable Soviet hockey teams from the 1960s and 1970s dominated via possession. The opponent can't score if it doesn't have the puck. The Soviets would hold the puck seemingly forever and force opponents — no matter how talented they were offensively — to chase the game.
In getting a point on the road versus the powerful Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, and dominating long stretches of an eventual 4-3 overtime loss, the Minnesota Wild's fearsome top line may have taken a page out of the old Soviet playbook to dominate Edmonton's top line while the teams were playing at even strength.
With a Wild player (or two) in the penalty box, the Oilers' first unit of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin helped put up three of Edmonton's four goals, and that trio combined for six points. But that same top line was shut out in even-strength play, as the head-to-head matchup with Minnesota's top unit of Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy tilted heavily in favor of the Wild.
"A lot of times they shoot, then they go win a 50-50 battle and just keep pressure on in the o-zone," said Wild center Ryan Hartman of his team's top line. "Those guys over there are so good," Hartman said of McDavid and company. "But they're not gonna score from the D-zone."
Even when all of that firepower took Edmonton to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025, goaltending was always perceived as the Oilers' weak spot. This season, they may have finally found an every-night puck stopper in Devon Levi, who was twice named college hockey's top goalie while playing at Northeastern. He was traded to Edmonton from Buffalo last summer and looked very solid Tuesday.
But every time the Wild visit Rogers Place, there is a certain lamentation among the Oilers fan base about what might have been when they look over to the Minnesota crease. Edmonton originally owned the 20th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, but it went to the Wild via a trade. Minnesota used that selection on Jesper Wallstedt, who has taken over the Minnesota goaltending duties and does not look to relinquish them anytime soon.
After a 28-save night and a come-from-behind point in Edmonton, Wallstedt was frank when assessing his team versus the Oilers, weapons and all. "It felt like it was self-inflicted wounds today that made us lose the game. It wasn't that they were the better team than us," he said. "It was more so us shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit. That was my feeling from the back."
And from the other end of the ice, Wallstedt had a distant view of the action in the third period, where Minnesota outshot the Oilers 11-4, outscored them 2-0 and forced overtime. Minnesota rallied via a few extra shifts by Kaprizov, and via a top line that is playing puck-possession offensive hockey as well as anyone in the NHL right now.
In the end, the Oilers skated off with two points via their third power-play goal of the night. But the Minnesota team boarded a plane bound for Calgary with the knowledge that even on the road, with three regular defensemen missing and on an off night for a penalty kill that has been among the NHL's best, its skaters match up well with Edmonton in a 5-on-5 setting.
Key Analysis
The Wild's top line demonstrated exceptional puck-possession skills, reminiscent of the Soviet teams' strategy, to neutralize the Oilers' high-powered offense at even strength. Despite the overtime loss, Minnesota's ability to control play 5-on-5 suggests they can compete with Edmonton, especially with Wallstedt's solid goaltending. The game also highlighted the Oilers' ongoing goaltending concerns, though Levi showed promise.
Originally reported by grandforksherald.