ANAHEIM, CALIF. - Mike Yeo was asked Sunday how he gets his team reset.
"You go into a building in L.A. and have a team kick the crap out of you," the Wild coach said bluntly.
Sunday morning, the Wild arrived at the Honda Center still smarting from a humiliating defeat. It was even more shorthanded with Marco Scandella joining Guillaume Latendresse and Greg Zanon on the injury list.
But Yeo called a meeting and told his players, "Winners respond to situations like this."
Yeo couldn't wait to see how his players would respond against the Anaheim Ducks. As Yeo suspected, the same team that got trounced the night before exploded out of the chute in the opening period of an eventual 3-2 bounceback victory.
"It was definite gut check time," said center Kyle Brodziak, who sweated all over the ice to help set the tone for a gritty Wild effort. "It was not a fun feeling all morning when you put an effort like we did [in L.A.].
"But when you get the reward like we have right now, it makes guys realize it is worth it."
The Wild built a 3-0 first-period lead through speed, battle and determination, ended a two-game losing streak, pulled even (2-2) on its five-game road trip and moved into the top spot of the Northwest Division for the first time since Dec. 4, 2008.
Brodziak, Matt Cullen and Jared Spurgeon scored the goals. Niklas Backstrom made 32 saves and had to be especially good when the Ducks mounted a furious pushback in the final 40 minutes.
"I saw an awful lot of pride on the ice," Yeo said.
"We got a pretty big wakeup call," defenseman Justin Falk added.
Yeo reunited the Devin Setoguchi-Mikko Koivu-Dany Heatley first line and moved Cal Clutterbuck to the second. But Yeo also reunited the blue-collar Darroll Powe-Brodziak-Nick Johnson line that was so good Tuesday in Calgary.
As if Yeo had planned it, the trio crashed the net nobly to create the Wild's greasiest goal of the season. Johnson won a battle and put the puck in the blue. He and Powe jammed at the puck before Brodziak spotted it, pounced and buried it for a 1-0 lead.
"That was a real good indication of where we were at as a team mentally tonight," Yeo said. "Winning a battle down low, fighting off a guy, taking a puck to the net and numbers around the blue paint [before] spearing the puck home."
Cullen made it 2-0 with one of the prettiest goals of the season. With a burst of speed, Cullen deked at the blue line and slipped the puck by flat-footed defenseman Toni Lydman to Clutterbuck.
Cullen flew by Lydman and drove the net as Clutterbuck sent a gorgeous, no-look, backhanded pass to Cullen, who popped it over Jonas Hiller for his team-leading seventh goal.
"Now that I know Clutter's playmaking, I'm going to be looking for it more," Cullen joked.
Late in the first, Spurgeon unloaded on a bouncing puck to end Hiller's night. Dan Ellis started the second period in goal, and the Ducks pressured the rest of the night. Cam Fowler scored twice, but Backstrom held strong and was aided by two goalpost clangs by Teemu Selanne. The Wild also survived a frantic 4-on-3 for 1:49, where players sprawled all over the ice.
"Whatever needed to be done, there were a lot of guys blocking shots, a lot of guys winning battles, and that's the collective leadership we need," Brodziak said.
The Wild hopes to end its road trip Tuesday at last-place Columbus with a victory before returning home for a six-game homestand.
"We wanted to show the L.A. loss was a one-time thing," Spurgeon said. "We have to carry it into Columbus."
