NHL: Minnesota 3, Edmonton 0

ST. PAUL, Minn., March 22 (UPI) -- Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom racked up his seventh shutout of the season Sunday, turning back 31 Edmonton shots in a 3-0 Wild victory over the Oilers.

The win moved Minnesota to within a point of idle Nashville for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 10 games to play.

Owen Nolan scored two goals and Stephane Veilleux got the third in the Wild's second win in three games following a four-game losing streak.

Dwayne Roloson stopped 36 shots for Edmonton, which had won its previous three contests.

Forward Marion Gaborik, who had hip surgery in early January, returned to the ice for the Wild and played 18 minutes. Gaborik, who set the franchise season scoring record last season, had not played since Dec. 23 and had appeared in only six games before Sunday. He becomes a free agent at the end of the season, having turned down a long-term contract extension averaging $8 million a year last off-season.