With a 3-2 win over Anaheim on Sunday night the Minnesota Wild moved into first place in the Northwest Division by themselves for the first time since 2008. They now have an excellent chance to build a bit of a lead over Edmonton, Colorado, and Vancouver with a relatively easy week of games. Hockey Wilderness looks back on the Wild taking over first place this past week:
So there you have it, the Wild win 3-2 and have taken over the Northwest Division lead. Funny, the last 2 games before tonight filled us with gloom, tonight's game made the Wild tops in the division. Go figure. The boys are now 2-2-0 on the 5 game swing away from home, which ends with a stop in Columbus on Tuesday. Let's hope this is a win, because if they don't, something is WRONG.
First off, Minnesota starts the week with their final game on the five-game road swing they have been on. the Wild plays Tuesday night in Columbus against the Blue Jackets, who have an NHL-worst seven points on the season. Minnesota is seceond in the NHL with a 2.1 goals against average, and Columbus is one of the worst goal-scoring teams in the league.
The Wild then return home to the Xvel Energy Center on Thursday with a critical divisional matchup with the Colorado Avalanche. Saturday night Minnesota finishes the week with a home game against the St. Louis Blues.