Securing their fate
Back-to-back losses to Vancouver and St. Louis on March 26-27 put the Wild verge of falling out of the top eight in the Western Conference. But the play and leadership of the team's captains — Mikko Koivu and alternates Zach Parise and Ryan Suter — sparked a six-game stretch in which the Wild won five games, gained a point in a shootout loss and secured the top wild-card spot. Here's a look at their play:
GameKoivuPariseSuter
March 29 at Phoenix, W 3-12 assists, plus-22 goals, plus-2plus-3, 29:38 TOI
March 31 at Los Angeles, W 3-21 goal, 1 assist1 goal, 1 assist29:12
April 3 at Chicago, L 3-2 (SO)plus-1, 3 shotsplus-1, 5 hits1 assist, 33:11
April 5 vs. Pittsburgh, W 5-01 goal, 13-5 on faceoffs2 assists, plus-2plus-3, 3 hits
April 7 at Winnipeg, W 1-01 assist, plus-11 assist, plus-1plus-1, 28:03
April 8 vs. Boston, W 4-3 (SO)2 assists, shootout winner1 assist, 3 blocked shotsTying goal with 1:05 left
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