The Edmonton Oilers (10-8-2) will face a tough matchup at Rogers Place on Thursday night when the hockey club takes on the surging Minnesota Wild (12-3-3) led by forward Kirill Kaprizov, who is currently on pace to score nearly 150 points this season.
Kaprizov is riding a six-game point streak that has seen him put up 12 points since it began.
The Oilers are returning to Edmonton for a two-game homestand after completing a three-game road trip that ended with a 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
In their last 10 games, the Oilers have a 6-3-1 record and have scored an average of 3.3 goals per game in that span. The Wild have an even better record over their last 10 games, going 7-2-1. In that time frame they have averaged 3.2 goals per game.
So far this season, the Wild have given up an average of just 2.33 goals per game, tying them for the NHL lead in that statistical category.
The Oilers have been without winger Viktor Arvidsson since Nov. 12 because of injury, and in Tuesday’s game fellow winger Zach Hyman did not play in the third period after taking a hit earlier in the game.
Late Thursday morning, Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed Arvidsson and Hyman would not play against the Wild. He said he believes Hyman is likely not to play a game over the next four to seven days.
“It’s taking a little bit longer than we thought,” Knoblauch acknowledged of Arvidsson’s injury. “It’s one of those things where if it was the playoffs he’d be playing, but where we are in the season it’s better to recover and be able to come back 100 per cent.
“So we are still day to day.”
The team confirmed newly acquired forward Kasperi Kapanen will make his debut with Edmonton. On Tuesday, the Oilers announced the club had claimed the 28-year-old veteran off waivers from the St. Louis Blues.
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“It’s been a hectic couple of days, but I am happy to finally be here and kind of get a game right away,” Kapanen told reporters after Thursday’s morning skate. “Just excited for the opportunity.”
“I’m happy to be back in Canada and just enjoy being in Edmonton. I know the fans love their Oilers here.”
Kapanen said he believes skating is his best attribute and that he hopes to bring energy to the team.”
“Just try to be some sort of factor out there to help this team win,” he said.
The Oilers have been without defenceman Darnell Nurse since Saturday’s overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He sustained an upper-body injury after taking a hit from Leafs forward Ryan Reaves.
Nurse was carrying the puck along the end boards in the Oilers’ zone and did not appear to see Reaves coming when he hit him high. Reaves was thrown out of the game and on Sunday, the NHL announced the Leafs player would be suspended for five games.
Nurse skated on with the team on Thursday morning but will not play in the game against the Wild.
Speaking to reporters after the morning skate, Nurse confirmed that Reaves apologized to him and spoke about what he thought of the play.
“In situations like that, there’s definitely an onus on the player with the puck to be aware of where everyone else is on the ice,” he said. “With that said, even if you put yourself in a bad spot, there’s lots of body on a six-foot-four hockey player to hit.
“You can argue about the intent, but there’s certain guys in the league that each shift they go out there and try and go inflict pain. I think it’s pretty obvious what was going on there.”
Nurse said it is not yet clear to him when he will be able to play a game again.
“With these things, the timeline is kind of up to multiple people,” he said. “What I feel sometimes isn’t indicative of what’s going to happen.”
A number of hockey commentators have noted Nurse was playing particularly well in the games leading up to the injury. The blueliner was asked about whether that makes the injury additionally frustrating.
“It is what it is,” Nurse answered. “(You) move on and keep the momentum that was going before that.”
Knoblauch has previously said he believes Nurse would likely be out of the lineup for “five to 10 days” as a result of the hit that got Reaves suspended by the NHL.
On Wednesday night, the Oilers announced the team had loaned defenceman Josh Brown back to the American Hockey League’s Bakersfield Condors.
–With files from The Associated Press
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