Brian Rolston, who came to the Wild from the Bruins as a free agent in 2004 in one of the best deals that General Manager Doug Risebrough has made, said he believes his team has as good a chance to win the Stanley Cup as any other team.
"Obviously it's a long road, and I think there's a lot of good teams in the West," Ralston said. "I think there's unbelievable teams in the West, but I feel like our team can play with anybody."
Even if Vancouver wins the division, he added, the Wild will be in good shape.
"But wherever we do land, it doesn't really matter if we win the division -- it'd be great if we did, that would be a feather in our cap, I guess," he said. "But we want to continue playing the way we are and roll into the playoffs with that same kind of intensity, and that's first and foremost for us. I guess you have to beat everybody if you're going to get to the ultimate prize, so wherever we get seeded, we get seeded."
Asked why the team has played so well recently after going 7-7-1 in December, Rolston said: "I think it's a lot of things. We got healthy -- that was a big part, with Marian Gaborik coming back, that made a huge difference. I just think we're just clicking on all cylinders, and we're just playing the system and we're also getting tremendous goaltending -- so it's a combination of a lot of things."
Rolston praised goalie Niklas Backstrom, whose record is 16-3-3 since he replaced the injured Manny Fernandez.
"He's been terrific for us since about 30 games left in the season," Rolston said of Backstrom. "He came in and really took advantage of an opportunity that opened to him. He's giving us a chance to win every night. I think that was one of the biggest keys in why we turned it around on the road."
Risebrough has said that the NHL's new collective bargaining agreement created some parity. And he is right. There are no longer one or two dominant teams and the Wild is the equal of any contenders.
Childress on Cook
The Vikings didn't re-sign veteran offensive tackle Mike Rosenthal, and one reason might be that coach Brad Childress says he sees a good future for 2006 second-round draft choice Ryan Cook, who did get some playing time last season.
Now Cook and another young player, Marcus Johnson, will battle for that right tackle spot if the Vikings either don't draft an offensive lineman or sign a free agent.
Childress said he believes he has two of the best offensive line coaches in the country in Pat Morris and Jim Hueber, and they will develop the young lineman.
"You know, he wasn't a project," said Childress of Cook, who played for New Mexico. "He was multiple-position guy. It's ... rare that a guy can play right tackle and give a decent account of himself and then can go in there and snap the football. And you don't find those guys very often. You've got to have guys that can -- when you only have seven offensive linemen up on a Sunday -- you've got to have guys that can do a few things along the front.
"I believe he does have a future."
Childress likes the athletic ability of the 6-6, 328-pound Cook.
"Great feet, has an anchor, can sit down and pass protection -- he can stop a bull rush," said Childress. "He is going to have to learn some things with his hands, but he's strong enough. He's got to learn hand skills of getting his hands inside -- but I might say that about all of those offensive linemen."
One area the Vikings will have to improve on is in pass protection. At times last season, quarterback Brad Johnson was running for his life.
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