Say what you will but the Minnesota Wild are leading the Western Conference and head into the All-Star break on a roll after a convincing 5-1 win over the St Louis Blues Thursday night.
Devan Dubnyk made 25 saves to backstop the Wild to the win.
From late in the middle frame to early in the third, the Wild scored three times on goals from Mikko Koivu (second period power play) and both Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund in the third period.
“It’s not the prettiest hockey, but we found a way to get those goals,” Niederreiter said. “Obviously goals like that, especially at the end of a period, was huge for us. We came in, talked about it and had a really good third period.”
Minnesota stretched their current winning ways to 26 games with a record of 21-3-2 over that span.
“It’s pretty balanced right now. I think every line got a goal today,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. “It’s a different kind of team than I’ve had in the past, but it’s a very enjoyable one to coach.”
Vladimir Tarasenko was the only goals scorer for the Blues.
“We just don’t seem to handle the good stuff very well,” St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. “We played so well (in a 3-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday) and to come back and play the way we did today is disappointing. It’s too much of a reoccurring theme here.”
Erik Haula and Tyler Graovac cored on either end of the three-goal outburst for the Wild.
“We talk about consistency. The bar is high for us in the room. We keep each other accountable. Every game is important. We’ve talked about it and we want to be on top,” Haula said.
Carter Hutton (25 saves) got the start for St Louis but was given the hook after the Granlund goal; he was relieved by Jake Allen.
“We just [have to] play better. That’s the bottom line,” the Blues’ Alexander Steen said after the loss.
A review of the last few games shows that the Blues have sent the hook from stage right four times in the last nine games in replacing their starting goalies.
WATCH: All Blues vs. Wild highlights
Head coaches are becoming less and less reluctant to yank their starters. It seems goalie confidence and psyche are no longer a consideration.