Havlat gets 2 goals and Wild win 4-2, running home win streak over Oilers to 12 games

Wild beat Oilers 4-2 to stretch home streak to 12

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Martin Havlat had his first two-goal game for Minnesota, and the Wild beat Edmonton 4-2 on Thursday night for their 12th straight home victory over the Oilers.

Antti Miettinen’s early third-period goal, his career-high 16th this season, made it 2-1 for Minnesota before the game took a dramatic turn.

Marc Pouliot punched in the tying score in thick traffic for Edmonton against Wild goalie Josh Harding, who left a few seconds later after making a diving save and appearing to aggravate a hip injury he’s been bothered by lately.

Emergency backup Anton Khudobin was forced into his NHL debut and made several difficult saves during a power play to help preserve the victory. Khudobin stopped eight shots in less than 10 minutes.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Martin Havlat had his first two-goal game for Minnesota, and the Wild beat Edmonton 4-2 on Thursday night for their 12th straight home victory over the Oilers.

Antti Miettinen’s early third-period goal, his career-high 16th this season, made it 2-1 for Minnesota before the game took a dramatic turn.

Marc Pouliot punched in the tying score in thick traffic for Edmonton against Wild goalie Josh Harding, who left a few seconds later after making a diving save of Pouliot’s next try and appearing to aggravate a hip injury he’s been bothered by lately.

Emergency backup Anton Khudobin was forced into his NHL debut and made several difficult saves during a power play to help preserve the victory. Khudobin stopped eight shots in less than 10 minutes.

Guillaume Latendresse maneuvered through the slot for a back-hander with 7:48 left, and Havlat stretched the lead a little later.

Mike Comrie scored for the first time in three months for the Oilers, whose modest two-game winning streak ended on the heels of a brutal six-week stretch that pushed them to the bottom of the league. Jeff Deslauriers made 30 saves, but the late lapse dimmed a bit his 1-0 shutout of Philadelphia the night before.

After an almost unfathomable 1-18-2 record from mid-December through the end of January, the Oilers started February strong with two wins this week. They got a break here, too, when nemesis Niklas Backstrom was put on injured reserve by the Wild before the game.

Backstrom, who missed his fourth straight game with first a back injury and then an illness, was in the net for all 11 of Minnesota’s wins during the streak against Edmonton at Xcel Energy Center with a goals against average of 1.08. The rest of the Wild goalies who previously played at home against the Oilers were a collective 4-9-1.

After Wade Dubielewicz started in Tuesday night’s defeat at Dallas and ended the Backstrom-Harding tandem streak at 234 games, dating four seasons, Harding got the call for this game despite his less-than-healthy hip.

In the end, the Wild had a solid start for their critical five-game homestand without the lament of numerous wasted scoring chances throughout the first two periods. They’re 7-0-1 in their last eight games here.

Linemate and fellow Finland native Mikko Koivu took the puck behind the end line and zipped a pass back to Antti Miettinen for a quick shot and the lead in the second period.

Comrie scored on a power play in the second period, seconds after a 5-on-3 ended. He got a cross-crease pass from Sam Gagner for his first goal since Nov. 8. The two-time 30-goal scorer missed 30 games this season because of mononucleosis.

NOTES: Following their game in Edmonton on Wednesday night, both the Oilers and the Flyers flew to Minnesota. Philadelphia faces the Wild here on Saturday night. … The Wild have outscored the Oilers 43-14 during this home winning streak. Their last loss to Edmonton at home was more than three years ago. … The Oilers also made a roster change with goalies before the game, recalling Bryan Pitton from Springfield and sending Devan Dubnyk to the AHL club. … Backstrom can come off IR at any time. Khudobin was brought up from Houston of the AHL before the game as insurance behind Harding and Dubielewicz. … Miettinen has at least one goal in seven of his last nine games.