Zach Parise is hot, but is he hot enough to pass up a hat trick?

Parise’s two goals were the difference Monday night when he corralled a puck in the final minute with a chance to send it toward the net vacated by Edmonton goaltender Cam Talbot for an extra attacker. When none of his teammates raced across the red line for a pass, the left winger flipped it high to kill some clock.

“I’m regretting my decision right now,” he said.

Parise could joke because he gave the Wild more offense than they needed in a 3-0 victory over the Oilers at the Xcel Energy Center that wrapped up a playoff spot with three regular-season games remaining, although it wasn’t nailed shut until the Colorado Avalanche lost to the Kings in Los Angeles, 3-1.

With 98 points and a game in hand on the Avalanche, the Wild’s victory put them out of the reach of Colorado, one of four teams still trying to earn one of two Western Conference wild card spots. It’s the sixth straight postseason berth for the Wild.

“I don’t know how all this math works out,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said, “I just wake up in the morning and just hope to see an ‘X’ by the name.”

Goaltender Devan Dubnyk stopped 22 shots for his fifth shutout of the season and 29th of his career, and Joel Eriksson Ek added an empty-net goal with 44 seconds left as Minnesota earned at least a point for the eighth time in its past nine games.

It was Minnesota’s first game without top defenseman Ryan Suter, lost for the season after fracturing his right ankle in Saturday’s 4-1 loss at Dallas. Suter’s season-long partner, Jared Spurgeon, missed his ninth straight game because of a partially torn hamstring.

Former Minnesota Duluth defenseman Carson Soucy made his NHL debut, finishing even with three shots on goal and two hits playing on the third pairing with Nate Prosser.

“Definitely nice to get that first one out of the way,” Soucy said. “I think a lot of the anticipation happens in the time leading up to it, so it was nice to get that first shift and then that first game out of the way. Hopefully just move forward and focus on the next couple of games here.”

Parise is rounding into top form after joining the team on Jan. 2 because of October surgery to remove a herniated disc. Playing with center Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund, the veteran left wing has 12 goals and five assists in his past 19 games.

“It’s great. I hope it has a ripple effect on the rest of the guys,” Boudreau said. “I thought Mikko’s line in general was tremendous today. They were right on, not only checking, but they could have had a couple more (goals). That was great leadership by that line.”

Parise opened the scoring with a steal and unassisted goal when Edmonton’s Adam Larsson was unable to control a pass at the Wild’s blue line. Parise raced in to corral the puck and take it straight at Cam Talbot and, with Darnell Nurse chasing, wristed a shot that found Talbot’s five hole for a 1-0 lead at 3:33 of the first period. Related Articles Bob Nevin, won 2 Stanley Cups with Maple Leafs and played 2 seasons with North Stars, dies at 82

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Parise scored the second goal when he cleaned up a rebound from Talbot, whacking it off the goaltender’s left skate for a 2-0 lead at 8:24 of the second period.

“I’m getting some good looks. I think our line is doing a good job,” Parise said. “When you play with Granlund, you’re going to get chances, you’re going to get shots, you’re going to get good scoring opportunities.”

The Wild’s 98 points — with games remaining at Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose — are the third-most in franchise history, tied with the 2013-14 team. Last season, the Wild earned a team-record 106 points, and the 2014-15 team earned 100.