CHICAGO _ This is unfamiliar territory for the Wild and Blackhawks, vying for points in early January like their playoff livelihoods depend on it.
Because they do, the reality of being tangled in the clump of teams jostling for positioning _ this after both paced the Central Division by a comfortable margin just a year ago.
Chalk it up to parity or the roster turnover experienced by each club last summer.
Either way, the second half is poised to decide fates.
And after recently stumbling against the Avalanche and Flames _ two other foes in the mix _ the Wild received a much-needed boost in a 2-1 win over the Blackhawks Wednesday in front of 21,721 at United Center that could end up sealing pivotal points for the team by the time this race heats up in the spring.
For now, it flipped the Wild into the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference and awarded them a slim two-point edge over the Blackhawks.
The blue line provided the offense, with defenseman Ryan Suter delivering the game-deciding goal 3 minutes, 3 seconds into the third period.
Action was four-on-four after the Blackhawks' Patrick Kane was whistled for tripping while the Wild's Marcus Foligno was in the box for an illegal check to the head of defenseman Jan Rutta. Suter finished off a three-on-two break, sending the puck top-shelf on goalie Anton Forsberg.
Package that goal with a 34-save effort by goalie Devan Dubnyk, and the Wild had enough to hold off the Blackhawks _ no easy feat considering the team scored eight goals in a lopsided win the night before in Ottawa against the Senators.
Chicago wasn't at full strength up front, dressing seven defensemen after shipping winger Richard Panik to the Coyotes before the game, along with center Laurent Dauphin, in exchange for winger Anthony Duclair and defenseman Adam Clendening.
This, however, meant the Wild got a double dose of Kane, as coach Joel Quenneville double-shifted the winger, so the different look didn't exactly have the look of a disadvantage.
Defenseman Brent Seabrook, in his return to the lineup after being a rare healthy scratch Tuesday, opened the scoring with a bank shot off Dubnyk's left skate 12:24 into the first period.
The Wild challenged the goal to determine if the sequence was off-side, but the initial good-goal call stood. Because the challenge was unsuccessful, the Wild were assessed a delay-of-game penalty. Chicago didn't convert _ both teams finished 0 for 3 on the power play _ but it was still dominant in the period, outshooting the Wild 14-5.
This barometer was much closer in the second, as the Wild tied it at 1.
A Jonas Brodin shot deflected off Chicago winger Tommy Wingels' stick and over Forsberg's left shoulder at 9:58. Forsberg ended up with 24 saves. With a secondary assist on the play, defenseman Matt Dumba notched the 100th point of his career.
And that improved play in the second carried over into the third, helping the Wild complete their comeback.
Not only did the win snap a two-game slide for the Wild, as they were routed by the Avalanche 7-2 Saturday and upended 3-2 in overtime by the Flames Tuesday, but it nixed a four-game losing streak on the road.
The Wild hadn't won away from home since Dec.19, a trend that certainly must change the rest of the way for the team to keep up with the other teams clamoring for a playoff spot.
