Erik Haula and Nino Niederreiter have so embraced their roles as Wild shutdown forwards on the third line that they've become the Wild's hottest forwards offensively during interim coach John Torchetti's 18-game tenure.
Proving once again that quality defense in hockey can result in a bevy of scoring chances, the Wild "checkers" have spent more consistent time in the offensive zone at even strength than any of their teammates.
That continued during Sunday's 3-2 shootout victory at Chicago, when Haula and Niederreiter scored the Wild's only goals in regulation. Each player is riding career-best five-game point streaks into Tuesday's game vs. powerhouse Los Angeles, with Niederreiter having four goals in the past five games.
The reason for their success, Torchetti says, is simple: "Work ethic. That's the bottom line. They're workers, they care."
A consistent third-line tandem since Torchetti's Feb. 15 debut at Vancouver, Haula and Niederreiter usually have been matched up against one of the opponent's most skilled lines. They have been so successful, it hasn't mattered what right winger Torchetti slides next to them.
The line usually still motors at the same effectiveness.
First, it was Jason Pominville, and the veteran broke out of a season-long slump with five goals and 12 points during one eight-game stretch before being sidelined because of a lower-body injury. The line has continued to produce whether it has been with Justin Fontaine there, or for one game in Saturday's shootout victory over Carolina, David Jones.
Jones said anybody can play with Haula and Niederreiter as long as they embrace that role, too. Jones, a checker by heart but one who has played a top-six role at times in his career, scored his second goal with the Wild against the Hurricanes thanks to Niederreiter's hard work one shift.
"They were buzzing before I got here, and I don't think it really matters who's on that [right] side," said Jones, acquired from Calgary on Feb. 29. "They're both real effective, especially Nino, at protecting the puck, and [Haula] is great down the middle."
It seemed like Sunday the line always had the puck, in large part because Haula won a career-high 18 faceoffs on 22 draws.
Haula so treasures the task he has been assigned nightly by Torchetti that he has on occasion even asked the coach immediately after games whom he's going up against the next game.
In 18 games under Torchetti, Niederreiter has scored nine goals, has 16 points and has fired 39 shots on goal.
Most shocking has been Haula's output. Often in Mike Yeo's doghouse, Haula still was the one player arguably playing better than any forward during Yeo's final days as Wild coach.
That heated has up during Torchetti's 18-game stint. Haula has six goals, 15 points and, like Niederreiter, 39 shots. In 49 games before Torchetti arrived, Haula had five goals, 14 points and 42 shots.
Haula is averaging 15 minutes, 24 seconds per game under Torchetti, which is 4:20 more a game than he played under Yeo.
"He's a worker," Torchetti said of Haula. "He's a great skater. You've got to enjoy watching him play the game because he's fun to watch. He plays just hard on the puck. It's fun to watch. Nino does a great job on the walls, a great job on the power play. A lot of people can learn from the way they're playing."
Naturally, the linemates credit the other for their success.
"Haulzy's been really using his speed, and that helps my game a lot," Niederreiter said. "He rims the puck deep and makes solid plays and he lets me work down low, so it's fun to play. He's been great."
Haula says it just comes down to understanding their "defensive role."
"It's worked for so long now," Haula said. "We have it in the back of our mind that if we do a good job checking, we're going to get offensive chances."