The Minnesota Wild are set to take on the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. One of Minnesota's only two wins came against them on Oct. 13, so they should be plenty confident going into the game. Offseason acquisition Devin Setoguchi had the game-winning goal in the fourth round of the shootout. It was the seventh straight win over the Oilers for Minnesota, who took all six during the 2010-2011 campaign.
Edmonton, on the other hand, are not very confident, but a win over Minnesota could give the young team the boost they need. The Wild failed to beat a Penguins team without its top two centers, its top defenseman and a few others players, so again ... confidence levels have to be evening out right about now.
The Oilers have had a good penalty kill this season - one of the few things to work for the team this season. On top of that, the Wild have failed on their last ten attempts with the man advantage and have only converted three power play goals in their first five games. Conversely, the Oilers have only allowed three.
They're both teams that feel they should be better than they are right now, but it's the Wild who had more preseason expectations with guys like Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley on their way in. Is this the game where it finally clicks for them? Only time will tell.