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(Sports Network) - If the Wild are going to make the playoffs, they will need to play better on the road down the stretch. Though they were able to do that in their first game following the Olympic break, a trip to Edmonton might surprisingly give them some trouble.

Minnesota tonight tries for its third straight win over the Oilers but just its second in its last seven trips to Rexall Place.

The Wild went 21-8-2 at home before the Winter Olympic Games but were just a mere 9-19-2 on the road. However, they began their stretch run with a 4-0 victory in Calgary on Wednesday.

Niklas Backstrom, who had eight shutouts last year, picked up his second of 2009-10 and first since December 9 with a 29-save effort. He has 19 blankings in his career.

"When you come in and you're chasing a team ahead of you, you're more focused and more prepared," Wild coach Todd Richards said. "We were opportunistic tonight and when we got our opportunities we were able to finish. Tonight from top to bottom we had four lines going."

Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette each had a goal and an assist while Martin Havlat and Kyle Brodziak also scored for the Wild, who are four points back of a playoff spot and dealt Eric Belanger to Washington for a 2010 second-round pick prior to Wednesday's trade deadline.

The victory was still just Minnesota's second in its last nine on the road. Though the club has bested the Oilers twice at home this year it dropped a 5-2 decision in Edmonton back on October 16 in what was also its sixth loss in its last eight trips to Rexall Place.

Dustin Penner and Gilbert Brule had two goals each, but Minnesota earned a 4-2 home win in the last meeting on February 4 behind a pair of goals from Havlat.

Backstrom, though, could be the wild card. He is 14-1-0 with a 1.64 goals- against average and four shutouts in 17 career starts versus the Oilers and was not in net for that setback in Edmonton.

The Wild face an Oilers club tonight that is 11-17-4 at home this season, having dropped nine of its last 11 as the host. Edmonton, which begins a three-game homestand this evening, lost its first game after the break, a 5-2 setback in Chicago that was the club's third straight setback and seventh in eight games.

The Oilers are just 4-25-2 since December 15.

Robert Nilsson and Shawn Horcoff scored for the Oilers, who allowed three goals in the third period and were outshot 47-14 in the game.

"We could learn a lot from [the Blackhawks]," Oilers head coach Pat Quinn said, "They don't fool around...They make the opposition have to defend."

Devan Dubnyk was hammered in the loss for all five goals on 47 shots.

Edmonton unloaded veteran defenseman Steve Staios to rival Calgary for defenseman Aaron Johnson and a third-round draft pick at the trade deadline, then acquired defenseman Ryan Whitney and a 2010 sixth-round draft pick from Anaheim for blueliner Lubomir Visnovsky. The Oilers also claimed forward Ryan Jones off waivers from Nashville.

Jones skated in Wednesday's loss, while Johnson and Whitney were unable to make their debuts.