Never underestimate the power of a coaching change.
Firing Mike Yeo and bringing in John Torchetti seems to have done the trick for the Minnesota Wild.
Minnesota improved to 4-0 under their new bench boss, as they defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-1, at TCF Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
The Wild also set a franchise record by scoring five goals in each of their last four games.
They got the party started early, when Matt Dumba opened the scoring just 3:25 into the opening frame.
Minnesota also got goals from Thomas Vanek, Nino Niederreiter, Jason Pominville, Ryan Carter and Erik Haula.
If you can believe it, this was the Wild’s first win on “home” ice since Dec. 28.
A former member of the University of Minnesota’s hockey team was named the game’s first star.
Former @GopherHockey star, @EHaula the #1 star of the #StadiumSeries game. pic.twitter.com/JejUllQnZT
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 21, 2016
Haula finished the game with a goal and three points.
The night was almost perfect for the home team.
A scary incident occurred in the second period, when Jason Zucker whacked his head on the ice after he was hit by ‘Hawks defenseman Michal Rozsival.
Rozsival was given a five minute interference penalty and a game misconduct.
On a more positive note, the Wild now find themselves one point behind Nashville for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
The ‘Hawks will want to forget this performance.
They’ll have to wait until Thursday night before they get a crack at another opponent.
Chicago has a slim one point lead over the Dallas Stars at the top of the Central Division.