It's another shutout for Jesper Wallstedt as Wild blank Oilers, 1-0

Sarah McLellan, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Dec 2, 2025

Published in Hockey

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EDMONTON, Alberta — The Wild didn’t make the same mistake twice.

After their seven-game win streak was snapped by the struggling Sabres, the Wild got back to business and blanked the Oilers, 1-0, Tuesday night at Rogers Place to avoid losing to another down team.

Jesper Wallstedt continued his remarkable run, stopping 32 shots for his league-leading fourth shutout after he was named the NHL’s rookie of the month for November.

Wallstedt is on a seven-game win streak and improved to 8-0-2 overall in his debut season as the Wild backup goaltender.

Jonas Brodin provided the only offense the Wild needed, the defenseman connecting on a one-timer in the first period that flew by Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner (23 saves).

Since Nov. 7, the Wild are 10-0-2 for a 12-game point streak.

Wallstedt, 23, has been in net for seven of those victories, a stretch in which he gave up three goals once and two goals twice with the other four starts shutouts.

He’s the first NHL goalie in more than 61 years and only the seventh since 1929-30 to have five shutouts by his 10th career win; Wallstedt, who was drafted in the first round by the Wild in 2021, picked up his first shutout in his first victory two seasons ago.

How it happened

As they usually do, the Oilers had a ho-hum start to the season, but Edmonton still hasn’t taken off to resemble the team that advanced to the last two Stanley Cup Finals before losing to Florida.

Even with superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl centering different lines, the Oilers weren’t much of a threat early. Cue the Wild, who capitalized on a Brodin point shot 13 minutes, 11 seconds into the first period after he walked into a faceoff win by Nico Sturm.

The goal signaled the 17th time the Wild scored first, and they’re 12-2-3 when that happens.

Turning point

Edmonton was better in the second, but Wallstedt denied all 15 shots he faced — including the three pucks that reached him on two power plays for the Oilers; Ryan Hartman, who was elevated to the top line with Danila Yurov out with a lower-body injury suffered in the Nov. 26 win at Chicago, was whistled for hooking and tripping.

Wallstedt’s best save of the night came during the first power play when Zach Hyman tried to backhand the puck around a sprawled Wallstedt, but Wallstedt’s right pad got in the way.

The 3-for-3 effort by the Wild after a late penalty kill in the final minute of the third period extended their perfect run, as they’re 19 for 19 over their past seven games; their power play finished 0 for 2.

Key stat

The Wild continue to dominate this Western Conference matchup against the Oilers: They’ve won 12 of the last 16 games.

What it means

The Wild are quick learners.

Over the weekend, coach John Hynes pointed out the discrepancy between a statement win over first-place Colorado and the letdown the next night in a shootout loss to Buffalo and how that’s where the Wild can still grow as a group — by committing to the same game every game.

They were faced with a similar challenge Tuesday: Despite its pedigree and star power, Edmonton isn’t nearly as threatening as it should be, and the Wild took advantage.

Kudos to Wallstedt, since he set the tone for this performance with how well he tracked pucks, but the Wild as a whole had the cohesiveness to neutralize a top-heavy lineup like the Oilers’ that can flip momentum in seconds — a play that never arrived.

Up next

This four-game road trip resumes Friday at Calgary.