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Card carrying: Wild clobber Avs, take five-point lead for playoff spot

Zach Parise, Semyon Varlamov

Minnesota Wild left wing Zach Parise, front, scores a goal past Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov, of Russia, in the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 26, 2016, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

AP

If the Minnesota Wild edge the Colorado Avalanche for the West’s second wild card spot, we might just look at Saturday afternoon as the day that cemented the difference.

The Wild continued their hot streak with a convincing 4-0 win against the Avalanche today, extending their winning run to five straight games.

In the process, Minnesota fattened its lead over Colorado to five standings points.

From a tiebreaker standpoint, the Avalanche hold more run-of-the-mill wins than the Wild (38 to 37) and most importantly hold a game in hand. Minnesota now equals Colorado with 34 regulation/OT wins.

Ultimately, the Wild really seem to have the Avalanche’s number, and that might be the difference between a playoff berth and early golfing outings.

Then again, maybe the coaching change was the real difference-maker?

Either way, give Zach Parise a big chunk of the credit (two goals on Saturday, seven points during a three-game streak) and don’t forget Devan Dubnyk, whose shutout gives him five straight victories.

In other words, the Wild are getting big contributions during huge moments, and that might just punch their ticket to another playoff berth.