The Wild extended their winning streak to three games on Friday night over the Edmonton Oilers and are off to a nice start this month after a rocky November.
If you go back to the week of Thanksgiving, the Wild had just three wins in the month of November but over their last eight games, Minnesota has earned at least a point in six of those contests.
Entering play on Dec. 10, they’re just six points behind the Chicago Blackhawks who are leading the central division.
A big reason for their better play lately is the line of Jason Zucker, Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund.
Check out their numbers over the last eight games.
- Zucker: 3 goals, 5 assists = 8 points
- Koivu: 4 goals, 3 assists = 7 points
- Granlund: 1 goal, 5 assists = 6 points
Head coach Bruce Boudreau shuffled lines at practice on Saturday – trying to get veterans Zach Parise and Jason Pominville back to consistency – but kept Zucker, Koivu and Granlund together.
#mnwild lines: Parise-Staal-Pominville; Zucker-Koivu-Granlund; Niederreiter-Haula-Coyle; Stewart-Graovac-Gabriel.
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) December 10, 2016
Although Minnesota’s power play has struggled this season – 0 for their last 15 and 21st in the league – this team is surprisingly 10th in the NHL in goals per game.
Which is more than the Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning and Blackhawks who are loaded with offensive firepower.
