Last night the Wild dismantled the Blues in what Bruce Boudreau described as "his team's best complete effort in quite some time". The game was tight through the first period and much of the second with the Wild taking the early lead only to see the Blues tie it right back up. The teams traded opportunities before Tyler Graovac put the Wild ahead to stay.

The Blues did not go away though and had a very good chance to tie the game on a Scottie Upshall breakaway that Devan Dubnyk steered aside. The real turning point, in my opinion occurred late in the second with the Wild on the powerplay. Nino Niederreiter outworked Robert Bortuzzo for the puck, prying it loose and then Mikko Koivu doing the same to Colton Parayko, then slipping the puck to Mikael Granlund in front of Carter Hutton all alone. Koivu, of course, was not finished as he continued to keep the feet churning, as he went back to the net to collect the rebound and deposit it over a sprawling Hutton for the 3-1 lead, with just 11 seconds remaining in the period.

That goal epitomized the effort of the Wild and the Blues from that point forward. The game was definitely in the balance until the Wild took control by raising their level of compete. That to me is the single greatest difference between the 2016-17 Minnesota Wild and the Wild teams that have left us hoping for more these last few seasons.

The Wild hit the break with 32 wins and 69 points, just 5 wins shy of last years season long total. They are 8-2-0 in their last 10 and have a +51 goal differential second only to Washington's +54. A lot is going right for Boudreau's squad but there is a lot of season left and a ton more work ahead if this team is going to continue to make noise this season.

The unofficial second half of the season will be a grind with a condensed schedule and the fast approaching trade deadline. February, March, and April will be exciting for sure in the State of Hockey.

It's always Hockey Day in the State of Hockey!

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