ST. PAUL - Trailing in the third period, the Minnesota Wild got two goals just 43 seconds apart, rallying to beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Tuesday to remain perfect at home.
Defenseman Ryan Suter scored his second goal of the game to forge a 3-3 tie, and on the next shift, center Charlie Coyle swept a puck past Oilers goalie Cam Talbot, as Minnesota improved to 4-0-0 at Xcel Energy Center.
Suter and defenseman Marco Scandella had first-period goals for the Wild (6-2-1), who saw a 2-0 lead slip away, but won thanks in part to 22 saves from goalie Devan Dubnyk, including a toe stop of Oilers star rookie Connor McDavid on the doorstep late in the third.
For the Oilers, defenseman Darnell Nurse scored his first career goal to give Edmonton (3-7-0) a 3-2 lead in the third period, but they could not sustain it. Left winger Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist, and right winger Iiro Pakarinen scored for the Oilers, who got 24 saves from Talbot but lost their third game in a row.
The Wild jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the opening period was half over. Just minutes after a shot by right winger Jason Pominville clanked the crossbar, Suter’s seeing-eye shot from the top of the left circle made its way through a crowd and hit the top left corner of the net before Talbot could react.
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On the next shift, Wild defenseman Matt Dumba collided hard with Oilers left winger Lauri Korpikoski, then Dumba skated away when the Oilers challenged him to a fight. Minnesota emerged with a power play and doubled its lead when Scandella scored off a deflection that eluded Talbot on the glove side. It was Scandella’s first goal of the season.
Edmonton got one back before the period was over when Hall capped off a scramble in front of the Wild next, popping the rebound of a puck aided along by right winger Nail Yakupov past Dubnyk. It was the second goal in as many games for Hall.
In the middle period, Hall’s pass from below the goal line was spot-on to Pakarinen, who was playing just his second game for Edmonton after being called up last week. Pakarinen’s shot deflected off Dumba’s knee, changing directions just enough to fool Dubnyk and tie the game at 2-2.
Oilers left winger Rob Klinkhammer suffered an apparent lower-body injury in the first period during a collision in the corner behind Dubnyk. Klinkhammer limped to the bench and did not return to the game.
NOTES: With Oilers D Justin Schultz out of the lineup, the team called up D Darnell Nurse to make his season debut. Nurse, drafted seventh overall by Edmonton in 2013, played his first two NHL games for the Oilers last season. Schultz, who left early from the Oilers’ home game Sunday, did not make the trip to Minnesota. The team has not disclosed the reason for his absence. ... Tuesday’s game was the 700th of Wild LW Zach Parise’s career. Originally drafted by the Devils, he spent his first 502 games in New Jersey before signing as a free agent in his home state in the summer of 2012. ... This was the Oilers’ only road game in a stretch where they are playing seven of eight games at home. They open a four-game homestand Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens. ... The Wild’s next game is a playoff rematch against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.
