Game Fifty-nine: Wild 1, Kings 2 (SO)

You know that things are tight in the playoff race when a team can lose a game (admittedly after gaining one point for making it to the overtime) and still move up in the standings. That's exactly what happened when the Minnesota Wild failed yet again to put together a three-game winning streak, but still moved from eighth to seventh in the Western Conference. Of course, by the next time the Wild play, they'll probably be back on the outside looking in, but it might give them the motivation to put together a strong game.

The first thing that needs to be added to the Wild is a consistent offensive effort. The Kings stifled the Wild offense, who were only able to score a shorthanded goal thanks to a well-timed interception by Mikko Koivu. Of course, the Kings regulation goal came off of a Wild stick, so, for awhile at least, it certainly looked like 1-0 would be good enough to get Niklas Backstrom the win. That wasn't the case, and Backstrom dropped his first shootout of the season, surrendering the game winner after Drew Doughty had the puck slip off of his stick, but do so in an opportune way. Still, with the point, Minnesota now has 6 points in the last four games, and pulled themselves back into a place where they are in control of their own playoff destiny.

Game pluses:
- Antti Miettinen. Possibly auditioning for Team Finland, Miettinen scored the Wild's lone regulation goal, and then followed it by scoring their loan shootout goal.
- Mikko Koivu. Koivu buzzed the LA net a number of times, including hitting the post on the shootout, but his best play came when he stole the puck to lead to Miettinen's goal.
- Niklas Backstrom. The Wild goaltender was very good throughout the game, with a misplayed puck becoming the only Los Angeles goal. The two shots that got past him in the shootout would be difficult to stop for any goaltender.

Game minuses:
- Kim Johnsson. Maybe it was the pressure of the Finns playing well, but the Swede made one crucial mistake that allowed the game to find it's way to overtime. Making an attempt to sweep the puck under Backstrom, Johnsson instead flipped it over. Thing is, he had plenty of time to clear it out away from the net, and made a bad decision that may have ultimately cost the Wild a point.
- Shots. The Wild were taking shots, but didn't take a lot. Of course, it doesn't help when your shots are getting blocked or bouncing off of posts. The selection of shots just wasn't there.
- Passes. All night long, the Wild were throwing passes just out of reach of their teammates. If they had been able to put together passes like they usually do, this game would probably have had a very different outcome, especially with the way the Kings played back on their heels for the first two periods.

Next up: The Wild tries to take hold of their playoff destiny while also embracing the trials of the road. Starting a long month of road games, the Wild find themselves in Canada Friday night, to take on the division leading Calgary Flames.