With Thursday's strong 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings, the Minnesota Wild increased their lead in the Northwest Division even further. Not many folks saw the Wild as a team to threaten in the division, even after making some blockbuster offseason trades that needed them three-years' worth of first-round picks from the San Jose Sharks, with guys like Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley changing hands.
Now they're in the middle of a six-game winning streak following the win over the Kings, their longest winning streak of the season. They also had two other five-game winning streaks.This six-game streak is a franchise record for victories on the road. Matt Hackett, in his first career shot, stopped 42 shots from the relentless Kings and is riding high at the moment. Marco Scandella, Mikko Koivu, Darroll Powe and Cody Almond scored for Minnesota. Almond is a recent call-up as well.
Minnesota isn't just on top of the Northwest division, they lead the entire NHL with 41 points and they're off to the best start in the franchise's 11-year history with a 19-7-3 record. Next, they'll take on the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern.