ST. PAUL, Minn. _ Much of the focus at this point of the schedule is on the Wild's pursuit of the playoffs.
But there's another race worth keeping tabs on in the waning weeks of the season: center Eric Staal's bid for most goals in the NHL.
After potting two more to help the Wild roll by the Hurricanes, 6-2, Tuesday in front of 19,017 at Xcel Energy Center, Staal sits tied for fourth in the league with 36.
Only the Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (40), Jets' Patrik Laine (38) and Penguins' Evgeni Malkin (37) have buried more pucks.
Staal's offensive outburst continued a torrid stretch for the 33-year-old.
Since the calendar flipped to February, Staal has scored 16 times in 17 games. His 36 total tallies are his most since he recorded 40 in 2008-09, and 36 is the third-most in a single season for a Wild player in team history.
Staal's on pace for 44, which is only a goal shy of his career high of 45 set in 2005-06 when he was 21. And in 17 of the last 22 games, he's managed at least a point; his 17 goals and 30 points rank second in the NHL in that span.
Overall, he's also at a point-per-game clip with 67 through 67.
Like he did last game, Staal secured the Wild's first goal with a wrist shot on the power play 4 minutes, 35 seconds into the first period.
The Hurricanes hung around the rest of the period, but the Wild took over the game in the second amid the fastest four goals in franchise history in just 3:28.
Winger Nino Niederreiter kicked off the scoring parade on a deflection 23 seconds into the period for his first goal in 10 games.
Two minutes later, winger Zach Parise directed in a slick feed from captain Mikko Koivu on the power play to extend Koivu's point streak to five games.
At 3:36, Daniel Winnik, who turned 33 Tuesday, put the Wild up four on a shot from the deep slot that fooled Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward.
That chased Ward from the game. He had nine saves on 13 shots.
Ward's replacement, Scott Darling, also struggled to slow down the Wild's impressive start to the period because 15 seconds after Winnik's goal, Staal scored his second of the night off the rush _ cutting to the middle and outwaiting Darling before unleashing the puck over the goaltender.
Defensemen Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon and Koivu each set up a pair of goals, and goalie Devan Dubnyk posted 29 saves. His shutout bid was erased 9:23 into the third on a tipped puck from winger Phillip Di Giuseppe and center Victor Rask's one-timer on the power play scooted in with 1:41 to go.
Carolina finished 1 for 3 with the man advantage, and the Wild capitalized on their two looks.
Darling made 16 stops, giving up a sixth Wild goal with 5:14 left in the third on a wind-up from center Matt Cullen.
But Staal was, once again, the star of the show.
It was his 17th multi-point effort of the season and since he joined the Wild ahead of 2016-17, he's amassed 64 goals to rank tied for ninth in the NHL.
And the correlation between his prowess and the team's success could position Staal in another chase _ for the Hart Trophy as league MVP.
