Wild pregame: Fluctuations

Writing before Game 5 from the X:

What's most interesting to me about playoff hockey is that the old saying about ``mistakes'' turns out to be true.

And that players' performances fluctuate dramatically from game to game.

Usually, when coaches say a game will be decided by mistakes, it sounds like coachspeak. But each game in this series has been decided by a mistake. And sometimes just one.

When Dubnyk has allowed a soft goal, the Blues have won. When Jake Allen has given up a soft goal, the Wild has won.

The other fascination thing about the playoffs, and the Wild in particular, has been the fluctuation of performances.

In Game 4, right after I Tweeted something about Jason Pominville's poor performance in this series, he began playing as well as he has all year.

Charlie Coyle was a problem early in the series and now has turned it on.

Who else needs to improve their play for the Wild to become the rare team to win a series after falling down 3-0? Mikael Granlund. He was one of the Wild's best players all season and he's been made invisible by the Blues' defense this series. The Wild need more from him.

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And apropos of nothing I'm sitting in the Wild's media room, looking at a photo of Parise and Suter after they signed with the Wild. Man, they look young.

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Both shows were recorded at Hell's Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis.