ST. PAUL, Minn. _ This one was important. This one was impressive.
This one may have just shown the Devils, playing a deeper, faster, more skilled team, can put together a playoff push.
For, facing the Western Conference-leading Wild, who carried a 17-1-1 streak into the game, to end a four-game road trip and falling into a two-goal hole, the Devils twice rallied from deficits, scored three goals in the third period and won, 4-3, on Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center.
Prior to the Devils' third-period heroics, the Wild (28-10-5) had been 19-1-2 when leading after two periods.
So the Devils (19-18-9) completed what Taylor Hall had called a road trip that could "define" their season 3-0-1.
Beau Bennett scored the winner at 17:43 of the third period to complete the comeback, taking a feed from Blake Coleman and ripping a wrist shot past Devan Dubnyk (22 saves) from the slot.
But while the third period stood out, the reason the Devils even got to the final 20 minutes with a chance was their own goalie, Cory Schneider, who made 32 saves and stopped 14 of 15 shots in the first period when the Devils simply could not keep up with the Wild.
The Devils erased a two-goal deficit, tying the game on Adam Henrique's rising shot from the left circle at 5:23 of the third period. Erik Haula, swatting in a backhander from just above the crease, regained the lead for the Wild at 9:08.
Yet, just 22 seconds later, Kyle Palmieri tied it again on a shot that went in and out of the net so quickly it was initially called no goal.
Facing the Wild was clearly a litmus test for the Devils, not only on this particular road trip but their season-long attempt to establish any kind of team consistency.
"It's been a huge disappointment for us thus far that we've had some great games, some great periods, some great stretches and then we come out and have had a poor effort," said defenseman Ben Lovejoy, whose inability to clear the puck on the penalty kill led to the Wild's first goal. "Before flying home and sleeping in our beds and see our families, it's always a test: Come out and finish the road trip as a success or do what we've done a lot and take a step back."
The Wild quickly took over, narrowing the game from a 200-foot affair to a 125-foot expressway in their favor as they dominated puck possession.
Yet the Devils still might have managed to get out of the period without any damage thanks to some impressive saves from Schneider. Except that Devante Smith-Pelly took one of those inexcusable, thoughtless penalties that so often determine games.
Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon took a light wrist shot from the right side that Schneider gloved at 17:28. Yet, after the whistle, Smith-Pelly gave Spurgeon a shove from behind, sending him sprawling into the end boards and drawing a two-minute roughing minor for Smith-Pelly.
Spurgeon, at the left post, knocked down the rebound of Nino Niederreiter's initial shot and swatted the puck past Schneider for a power-play goal to make it 1-0 at 17:58.
That became a 2-0 deficit at 9:24 of the second period as Jason Zucker beat Schneider off the rush with a backhander from the right circle.
Yet the Devils remained in it. Rookie Pavel Zacha drew a hooking penalty on Mikko Koivu and scored on the power play to cut the Wild's lead to 2-1 at 13:19 of the second period, his first goal in 18 games.
