Wild's climb in standings fueled by success on the road

SAN JOSE, CALIF. – The Wild's performance on the road at the start of the season was one of the reasons why the team was buried in the standings through the first few months.

Now, its success away from home has helped the Wild rejoin the playoff race — a turnaround the group hopes to continue during a three-game tour of California.

"This trip could be huge for us just trying to keep that swagger going," winger Marcus Foligno said.

The Wild kicked off the trip Thursday night by edging the Sharks 3-2, giving the team a season-high six victories in a row as the visitor. Minnesota also jumped into the Western Conference's first wild-card playoff spot with 75 points, leapfrogging four teams in the process.

But progress started long before that streak.

After debuting 1-8 on the road, the Wild improved to 14-7-2 during its next 23 outings. A handful of those victories came during the team's travel-heavy start to the season, with 20 of the Wild's first 30 games on the road.

"It wasn't too happy around the rink when you're on the road knowing what our record was," Foligno said. "But I think the best thing about that was that we played a lot on the road, so we had to figure it out somehow and we did."

Another factor seems to be the boost the team receives from the results. The Wild swept its past two road trips, eked out a 3-2 win in Dallas on Feb. 7 on a last-minute goal from center Joel Eriksson Ek and was impressive in a 6-4 victory in Colorado during the team's first test after the Christmas break.

"You win some games in a row, you win some big games on the road, and road wins are so big for confidence," goalie Alex Stalock said.

The Public Health Department in Santa Clara (Calif.) County, where the Sharks play, recommended on Thursday postponing or canceling mass gatherings and large community events amid six new confirmed cases of coronavirus, but the Wild's game in San Jose continued as planned and fans were allowed into SAP Center.

In a statement, Sharks Sports & Entertainment said it was aware of the health department's recommendation and will evaluate upcoming events. It encouraged fans to follow the health department's suggestion that people at a higher risk avoid such gatherings.

The total number of people who have tested positive for the virus in the county is 20.

It's unclear if Staal will rejoin the team on this California road trip, which has two more stops in Los Angeles (Saturday) and Anaheim (Sunday). Interim coach Dean Evason said the team is monitoring Staal's status day by day.

With Staal unavailable Thursday, the team moved Luke Kunin from right wing to center against the Sharks. Gerald Mayhew also drew back in the lineup after being scratched Tuesday when Kunin returned from an upper-body injury that sidelined him five games.

Two Wild teams were in San Jose this week, as Iowa took on the Sharks' American Hockey League club Wednesday night at SAP Center — a 5-1 loss for Iowa.