As Rolston goes, so goes the Wild

Brian Rolston has been a catalyst since joining the Wild two seasons ago. His line is beginning to heat up, which is a good omen for a hot streak.

By KENT YOUNGBLOOD, Star Tribune

Last update: December 19, 2007 - 10:49 PM

Since coming to Minnesota, Brian Rolston has usually been the Wild's hockey barometer. When he has energy, so does the team. When he is scoring, the team wins. When he is on his game, the Wild is usually taking off.

Rolston knows this. And he wouldn't want it any other way.

"I love that responsibility," Rolston said after practice Wednesday, a relatively brief session coming on the heels of a three-game winning streak in which he has scored three goals.

This is not a coincidence.

"I know this has been the trend the past few years," Rolston continued. "When I was going well, usually the team was going well. Now, obviously, I'm not going to score every night. But I enjoy that."

But it's not only Rolston.

In the past two games -- the line of center Eric Belanger, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Rolston has been producing the way it did back in October, when the trio led the Wild to a 7-0-1 start.

Belanger was inserted between Rolston and Bouchard, taking the place of Todd White, who had played there the two seasons before. And the trio showed instant chemistry during the team's hot start. Problem was, it didn't last. The line hit a difficult stretch. Then injuries and, more recently, illness broke the line up.

But recently, the three have been treating the holiday season like a much-awaited reunion tour.

"They are playing better," Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said. "The last [few] games they've been back together. They move the puck, they're back to supporting each other. At a time they stopped that. They were doing things individually."

Over the past three games, Rolston has three goals, five points and is a plus-2. Belanger, who scored the game-tying goal Tuesday against Nashville and assisted on Rolston's game-winner, has a goal, three points and is a plus-6. Bouchard, who has gone 17 games without a goal, has four assists and is a plus-4 in the past three.

Each of the three experienced difficult times this season when it came to scoring. Bouchard has recently returned to his game of using his speed and skill to set up plays; Lemaire lauded his effort Tuesday.

Rolston had a long streak of his own, going without a goal for 10 games during a November stretch. The Wild won five of those 10 games. This season, when Rolston scores a goal the Wild is 8-2-2.

"I think I was working hard [in that stretch] and I was still getting my shots," Rolston said. "There were opportunities."

It was a stretch in which injuries forced Rolston -- among others -- to be stretched pretty thin. He was a main penalty killer during a stretch when the Wild was taking a lot of penalties. But in recent games, the Belanger line -- and the team -- is clicking again.

"When you go into a game knowing you're going to play with the same guys that you clicked with before, you start feeling good about yourself again," Belanger said. "Last couple of games we're back to where we were in the beginning of the year."

And, not coincidentally, back to winning.