Games Seventy-one and seventy-two

The Minnesota Wild haven't been home for anything longer than a brief visit throughout the month of March, and this past weekend continued that trend. After beating the Colorado Avalanche at the Xcel Energy Center, the Wild went on a quick trip to New Jersey. Of course, when a team has been struggling to find consistent offense, the last thing you want to face is the winningest goaltender of all time, and that's just what the Wild had to do. It certainly didn't help that Marek Zidlicky played one of his poorest games in a Wild sweater, and, by the end of the night, Martin Brodeur had not only extended his own record, but he was able to step closer to the all-time shutout record, as the Devils knocked aside the Wild 4-0. The Wild returned home, still clinging to playoff aspirations.

If Minnesota had been able to play every game this season like they played the final 40 minutes of their game against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, they might be vying for the division lead with Calgary. The Wild got a boost from the return of Marian Gaborik, Niklas Backstrom had another terrific bounce-back game, and Owen Nolan continued to prove that he's got a nose for the goal as the Wild shut down the Oilers 3-0. Questionable officiating and an injury to Mikko Koivu made the game tighter than it should have been, but the Wild rose to the challenge.

Game pluses:
- Owen Nolan. His first goal against Edmonton came thanks to some hard gritty work in front of the net, and he was the final recipient. His second goal was all started by his own smart play, allowing the Wild forecheck to catch up to the play.
- Marian Gaborik. He didn't score, but, in his first game back since before Christmas, Gaborik was moving fairly well. His legs and his hands aren't quite back up to 100% yet, but the Wild is a different team with #10 in the lineup.
- Niklas Backstrom. Ultimately against New Jersey, Backstrom was victimized by bad defense and bouncing pucks. He returned to form against Edmonton, and played amazingly well. He's been the biggest reason why the Wild still has a shot to sneak into the postseason.

Game minuses:
- Marek Zidlicky. Zidlicky played incredibly poorly against New Jersey, and was directly responsible for two of their four goals. It may be something of a blessing in disguise that he missed the Edmonton game.
- Marc-Andre Bergeron. With Zidlicky out of the line-up, Bergeron seemed like he wanted to emulate him, including coughing up the puck to Oilers attackers a couple of times on Sunday. It was only thanks to great saves by Backstrom that Bergeron's mistakes didn't cost Minnesota more than puck possession.
- Shooting. The Wild started both games with a ridiculously small number of shots, only taking four in the first period against New Jersey, and two against Edmonton. The remainder of the Edmonton game showed the Wild what they can do when they put the puck towards the net.

Next up: The Wild once again leave their home rink behind, and will possibly be leaving team captain Mikko Koivu as well, as they once again head east for a Tuesday night game against the New York Rangers.