Last night was a solid effort from start to finish from the Wild in their 4-2 victory over the Pacific leading Canucks.
Another strong performance from the Wild powerplay as essentially three of their four goals were the result of the PP, officially only two were credited as such but Brad Hunt's goal came just four seconds after Jay Beagle's minor had expired. The penalty kill on the other hand gave up another two including a late tally by Antoine Rousel in the final two minutes of the game.
Details like allowing late game goals, taking lackadaisical penalties, and subpar penalty killing, are what has separated the Wild from being inside the playoff bubble and their current position outside looking in.
The goal is still to win and making the playoffs at least for now and for this head coach. We will see how that plays out these next couple of weeks though.
Some interesting takes though as last night Jason Zucker was on the fourth line the entire night and saw just over 10 minutes of ice time. That is head scratching when you look at Zucker as one of the most marketable pieces the Wild have burying him on the fourth line appears downright odd.
Mikko Koivu has been a mainstay now on the fourth line for much of the last month. The captain did make a very nice play to create the Wild second goal, creating the turnover then feeding Ryan Hartman for his 7th of the season. Koivu's assist was his first in 10 games and just his third point in the ast 17. He has gone 22 games without a goal dating back to November 9th. The more alarming stat on Koivu though is that he has taken a minor penalty in each of the last five Wild games and six out of seven. Clearly the speed of the game is becoming an even greater factor for the Wild's inspirational leader.
Tonight it will be another Wild veteran that will take center stage though as Zach Parise will join the 1000 game club following Koivu who accomplished that same mark earlier this season. Parise is still very productive leading the Wild in goals once again after betting his 20th of the season last night.
It is unfortunate of course with the Wild in the midst of home heavy part of their schedule that Parise's 1000th game is on the road in Dallas following the team's seven game homestand.
It was a successful homestand by most accounts with the Wild picking up 10 of the possible 14 points with the one very poor performance against Boston losing 6-1 and of course the stinger losing to Florida with under 10 seconds to play.
Regardless of how things play out there are players on this roster that are part of the Wild future and the maturation process of those players is instrumental in the future of the organization regardless of who is dealt or if the Wild somehow squeak into the playoffs.
Tiw of those players are Kevin Fiala and Ryan Donato. Fiala has been red hot with three goals in the last two games while Donato has not found the back of the net he has certainly been a factor nearly every shift he is on the ice.
Luke Kunin and Joel Eriksson Ek are carving their own roles on the team and the transition of the roster is happening albeit not at the pace any of us would like. Matt Dumba is rounding into form as well getting his game back closer to the level we have grown accustomed to seeing from the Wild's emotional leader.
So tonight in Dallas it is another opportunity for this group to show up and bring the effort once again this time on the road for the first time in nearly a month.
It's always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!
Minnesota Wild Blogger • 
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