Game Seventy-four: Wild 6, Islanders 2

The Minnesota Wild played Wednesday night like their season depended on it, and, in a lot of ways, it did. A win would give them some hope towards playoff positioning. A loss would pretty much put the final nail in the coffin for this season, and force the team to start looking forward. Add to that desperation a last-place New York Islander team filled with AHL call-ups due to injury, and you had a recipe for disaster.

Except this time, the Wild didn't play down to their opponents skill level. While the Wild and Islanders both took more than their fair share of penalties through the game, Minnesota kept applying offensive pressure, at points having little problem controlling the play. It helped that players stepped up last night in Mikko Koivu's absence, most notably Marian Gaborik and Owen Nolan, as the Wild ended up skating to an easy 6-2 victory. The win puts them one point out of the playoffs.

Game pluses:
- Marian Gaborik. For the second game in a row, Gaborik showed hints of how good he will be once he fully recovers. The sharpshooter scored twice, and added two assists, providing offensive leadership that the Wild have struggled to find all season.
- Owen Nolan. The grizzled vet, fresh off of a frustrating game against the Rangers, extended his team lead in goals, and added another two assists of his own. Imagine the output if Koivu and Gaborik could be healthy at the same time.
- Cal Clutterbuck. The Wild rookie entered the game needing only one hit to tie the NHL record. He tallied seven, according to the official scorekeepers. While the stat is somewhat subjective from rink to rink, Clutterbuck's energy, physicality, and clean play are not, and he's set to be a difference maker next season.

Game minuses:
- James Sheppard. With Koivu out, all of the centers needed to play tighter and better. Unfortunately, Sheppard could have really used another year of development, instead of being rushed into the NHL. He had trouble with the puck most of the night, and isn't a player that should be stepping into fights.
- Marc-Andre Bergeron. Once again, the Wild defenseman had trouble keeping puck possession, and made bad passes. He provides offense from the blue line, but he's making too many mistakes on the defensive side of things.
- Discipline. The Wild are normally a very disciplined team, not taking a lot of foolish penalties. And yet, they skated themselves right into the penalty box, allowing the Islanders to antagonize them. More than once, the Wild negated a power play opportunity with a penalty of their own. And when's the last time an extended 3-on-3 opportunity was seen?

Next up: If the Wild want to keep their playoff hopes alive, they need to find a way to keep the offense moving, while giving Backstrom the space to shine. They also need to figure out how to win in Calgary, as they face the division-leading Calgary Flames on Saturday night. And yes, these are the same Flames that loaded up at the trade deadline.