Wild Team Report

INSIDE SHOTS

From a coach’s point of view, it’s not an ideal approach. Still, Wild coach Todd Richards can’t argue with the results. His team is demonstrating an increasing flair for the dramatic, using its growing confidence to post come-from-behind victories as it continues to find its stride.

The Wild’s 5-4 shootout victory over Anaheim on Friday was simply the latest. In eight of its 12 wins, the Wild has fallen behind. In three of those, it has rallied from at least two goals down. Though the Wild has surrendered the first goal in seven of its past eight games, its players now have the belief that nothing is lost until the game is over.

“When we were 3-8 or 3-9, there wasn’t a lot of confidence in the room,” Richards said. “You could feel it; it was like a dark cloud. They were waiting for something bad to happen. (Friday), the guys on the bench were very positive, saying there was lots of time left and they were going to come back. The players believe they can score goals now.”

Mikko Koivu’s(notes) line has fostered much of that. Friday, Koivu and linemates Antti Miettinen(notes) and Andrew Brunette(notes) combined for four goals, five assists and 16 shots in a dominant performance. Miettinen also was among the players chattering on the bench.

“You’ve got to stay with it for 60 minutes,” he said. “In the past, maybe we got down a little bit. You’ve just got to stay with it for the full game.”

Wild 5, Ducks 4  (SO): Twice, the Wild fell behind by two goals. Twice, it rallied, earning its first four-game winning streak of the season. After spotting Anaheim a 2-0 lead, the Wild tied the score early in the third with a pair of goals by linemates Mikko Koivu and Antti Miettinen. The Ducks promptly made it 4-3, only to have the same two Wild players score again to push the game to overtime.

Miettinen’s power-play goal with 1:41 remaining in regulation allowed the Wild to earn points for the sixth consecutive game. The Wild begins an eight-day, five-game road trip with a record of 5-0-1 in its past six.

NOTES, QUOTES

• The Wild has won its past four games, marking the first time it has done so under first-year coach Todd Richards. The team had not won four in a row since October 2008.

• After beginning the season with eight consecutive road losses, the Wild is 3-1-2 in its past six away from home. It begins an eight-day, five-game road trip Saturday, its second-longest of the season. The team went 0-5 on an 11-day trip in October.

Quote To Note:   “It was by far the best I’ve seen Mikko play. He was a dominant, dominant player (Friday night).”—Wild coach Todd Richards on center Mikko Koivu, who led the Wild’s shootout victory over Anaheim with two goals, an assist and nine shots in 21 minutes, 58 seconds of ice time.

ROSTER REPORT

Goaltenders:   Niklas Backstrom(notes), Josh Harding(notes).

Defensemen:   Marek Zidlicky(notes), Kim Johnsson(notes), Greg Zanon(notes), Shane Hnidy(notes), John Scott(notes), Nick Schultz(notes).

First Line:   Andrew Brunette, Mikko Koivu, Antti Miettinen.

Second Line:   Owen Nolan(notes), Eric Belanger(notes), Chuck Kobasew(notes).

Third Line:   Guillaume Latendresse(notes), Kyle Brodziak(notes), Cal Clutterbuck(notes).

Fourth Line:   Derek Boogaard(notes), Andrew Ebbett(notes), Martin Havlat(notes).

Player Notes:  

• C Mikko Koivu had two goals, an assist and nine shots Friday, his sixth career two-goal game. Koivu has points in nine of his past 12 games, scoring five goals and adding 12 assists in that span.

• RW Antti Miettinen, who missed three games with H1N1 flu late last month, scored two goals in the third period Friday for his sixth career two-goal game. After scoring only one goal in his first 19 games this season, he has five in his past five.

• LW Guillaume Latendresse scored the game-winner in a shootout, marking his first shootout goal in the NHL. He entered Friday’s game without a shootout goal on two career attempts.

Medical Watch:  

• D Brent Burns(notes), RW Petr Sykora(notes) and C Pierre-Marc Bouchard(notes) all are out indefinitely with concussions. Bouchard was injured on Oct. 6, Sykora on Nov. 7 and Burns on Nov. 20. None is expected to return until after Jan. 1.