The Central Division has a new leader.
After a two-month stint by Dallas as the No. 1 seed, the Wild finally leapfrogged the Stars to move into first place for the first time since Dec. 28, 2021, with nine games to go in the regular season.
This switcheroo is the culmination of a 14-1-4 surge by the Wild over their past 19 games, with the team pocketing a league-high 32 points since Feb. 17. But what put them over the edge was a Dallas loss Saturday evening after the Wild eked out a 3-1 win over the lowly Blackhawks two hours earlier in front of 19,312 at Xcel Energy Center thanks to a pair of late goals.
"It went to the end and … it's OK," coach Dean Evason said. "It's OK to grind. It's good for us to play games like this against teams that are maybe out of the playoffs or playing loose but yet hard.
"They're difficult games sometimes to play but if we play how the Wild play, we'll be fine."
Ryan Hartman's breakaway with 1 minute, 11 seconds remaining in the third period was the difference, the center scooping up a Chicago turnover to skate in alone and pick up his 13th goal of the season after sliding the puck behind former Wild netminder Alex Stalock (22 saves).
Frederick Gaudreau added an empty-netter 40 seconds later.
"You don't get that much time sometimes," said Hartman, who has the only later go-ahead goal by the Wild this season after scoring with 21 seconds left during a victory over Nashville on Feb. 19. "I was going to shoot high glove, and I decided not to last second. I almost even faked myself out."