Games Fifty-seven and Fifty-eight

The Minnesota Wild continues to keep things in the Western Conference interesting. A week ago, they were fresh off of squandering a 3-0 lead against the Ottawa Senators. They followed that game by holding momentum over the Calgary Flames long enough to take a lead, but then gave it back long enough for the division leaders to squeak out an overtime victory. It certainly looked like nothing was going to go the Wild's way, and weekend games against the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks couldn't possibly help.

Or could they? Maybe the Wild play better when they've got their backs against the wall, and are scrambling to even have a ghost of a chance towards landing in the playoffs. Saturday night, they again got a three point night from Owen Nolan, but this time they made it stick as they outworked the Red Wings to the tune of a 5-2 victory. In every area of the ice, the Wild outworked Detroit, and they didn't relent, even scoring a rare empty-net goal after the Wings pulled Jimmy Howard for an extra attacker.

How do you follow a game like the Wild had against Detroit? Well, apparently, you head to Chicago, only have a hope because your back-up goalie is doing things that look impossible, and get goals from two guys not expected to contribute a ton offensively en route to a 2-1 victory. The Blackhawks haven't lost often at the United Center this season, but Minnesota has left Chicago's home with a victory in each visit.

Game pluses:
- Owen Nolan. Two goals and a beautiful feed to a streaking Pierre-Marc Bouchard allowed Nolan to prove that a 37-year-old skater can still teach the kids a thing or two. His goals gave him the Wild team lead.
- Martin Skoula. The Wild's most reliable defenseman this season (and yes, it still feels weird to say that) added a goal and an assist to his score sheet, with opportune placement and intelligent decision making.
- Josh Harding. He doesn't get many starts, and he doesn't get a lot of goal support when he is between the pipes, but Harding may be coming into his own. He absolutely stifled Chicago, and gave the Wild a chance to find their legs and get back into the game. He made many highlight reel stops, but the most impressive was a glove save that barely kept the puck from crossing the goal line.

Game minuses:
- Marek Zidlicky. Again, Zidlicky found himself out of position and making bad decisions. With Kurtis Foster returning soon, could Zidlicky find himself scratched from games for awhile?
- Limiting the shots. The Wild kept the Red Wings from getting a ton of great chances, but didn't manage the same thing against the Chicago Blackhawks. At one point in the second period, the Wild were being outshot 25-6, and it was only because Josh Harding was doing the impossible that the Wild had a hope.
- Penalties. True, the best penalty kill in the league stifled both Detroit and Chicago. But that's no reason to keep testing it. The Wild took far too many penalties over the last two games, and a number of them very bad ones.

Next up: The Wild look to get a three-game winning streak going with a game tomorrow night against the visiting Los Angeles Kings, who are five points back from the Wild for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West.