Time will tell if the Minnesota Wild and Detroit Red Wings can gut their way to the postseason by the close of 2013-14, but they played a playoff-caliber game on Sunday and both improved their chances in the end.
Widened lead for Wild
The Wild redeemed themselves with a 4-3 OT win after losing in regulation 3-2 on Saturday. They didn’t let two Gustav Nyquist first-period goals fluster them enough to let this one slip away.
Matt Moulson was credited with the overtime game-winner, giving him 21 goals (four of them game-winners) this season. The 30-year-old has 46 points in 65 games played ... pretty nice work for someone who’s been traded twice in 2013-14.
The Wild had lost four of their last five and only won two of nine games (though they collected points in four of those contests thanks to OT or shootouts) coming into this one, but now they have a beefier lead over the rest of the pack for the West’s top wild card spot. Their 85 standings points in 72 games played give them a comfortable cushion in front of Phoenix, Dallas and the rest vying for positioning.
Far from settled East
Even with this overtime defeat, the Red Wings should probably feel pretty solid about this weekend, taking three of a possible four points against a challenging opponent in the Wild. It continues to be the Jimmy Howard and Nyquist show, it seems:
Detroit can also feel nice about the fact that they jumped from the second to first wild card spot out East because they reached 80 points in two fewer games than the wilting Toronto Maple Leafs.
Take a look at the updated East standings with Saturday’s Red Wings - Maple Leafs in Toronto looming pretty large: