Erik Haula's line doing job on defense plus scoring

Once again Wednesday, by not looking to score, the line of Erik Haula, Jason Pominville and Nino Niederreiter proved to be one of the Wild's best scoring units.

As the trio usually asked to take on the other team's top scorers, everyone knew that the way this line played would have a huge impact on the outcome of the Wild's best-of-seven playoff series with the Dallas Stars.

Now, with that series going back to Dallas with the Stars up three games to one, the Wild needs this line more than ever.

"I feel like when we're playing our best, it's when we have the puck a lot," Haula said. "That means that we're doing a good job checking and getting in on the forecheck, and that kind of plays into our system."

In four playoff games the line has 10 points. Pominville — who opened Wednesday's scoring — has three goals and an assist, leading the team in goals and points. Haula has a goal and two assists and Niederreiter has three assists.

Their play is one reason the Wild has been pretty good at even strength in the past two games.

"I just want them to check," coach John Torchetti said. "And that's the truth. They get points from checking. I don't look for offense from them. I talked to Nino about it. I think when you stray away from your game is when you think you want to get more points, and that's when your game changes and you kind of get on the wrong side of things. Just do what you do best and good things will happen.''

"The biggest thing is sticking to our system, getting pucks in deep, making the defensemen turn," Niederreiter said. "That's been really successful for us."

After killing 12 of 13 Dallas power plays over the first three games of the series, the Wild allowed the Stars to score on both their chances in the Stars' 3-2 victory Wednesday.

Immediately after the game the first of those two goals — Ales Hemsky's goal past a screened Devan Dubnyk — seemed to stick in Torchetti's craw.

Torchetti felt the shot should have been blocked. He said it more than once. And it appeared the culprit was defenseman Ryan Suter.

"We have to do a better job in the lane," Torchetti said after the game. "That right lane has to be blocked."

He did not name names.

"It's A, B, C, D, E," Torchetti said of Hemsky's goal, which tied the score 1-1 in the second period. "There's no names to it. Just positions of the players."

Reminded that a lot was made of Suter not blocking the shot, Torchetti said, "I don't know where that comes from. It's just A, B, C, D, E. It's just the execution of the play."

• It doesn't appear lineup changes are coming.

"I like the team the way it's playing," Torchetti said when asked if Ryan Carter might get back in the lineup.