ST. LOUIS _ Finally, the Minnesota Wild got an "A" for effort and a "W" in the win column.
After feeling it deserved so much more in the first three games of this aggravating playoff series against the St. Louis Blues, the Wild staved off elimination and a sweep Wednesday night with a well-earned, hard-fought 2-0 win at Scottrade Center.
After an upbeat team dinner the night before that included watching other playoff hockey and some competitive ping-pong, the Wild played with a "now-or-never" attitude and finally got compensated for the hard work.
For the first time in the series, Blues goalie Jake Allen, who entered the game with 114 saves on 117 shots, looked mortal as Charlie Coyle and Martin Hanzal scored goals. On the other end of the ice, Devan Dubnyk stepped up in a giant way during a terrific 28-save effort.
Dubnyk, who once led the NHL with five shutouts this season, had none since Dec. 20.
The Blues still hold a 3-1 series' lead. But the Wild, which looked clear-minded with fresh legs after an extra day off, should have some renewed confidence after two more days off heading into Game 5 Saturday in St. Paul.
In a rare ruse to throw the Blues off his scent, Bruce Boudreau deployed four different forward lines in pregame warmups that he never planned to use in the game.
The top three lines in warmups were the same as Game 3. But once Game 4 actually began, the cunning coach, who was visibly and audibly uptight earlier in the day, scrambled everything and went with the publicized lines from Tuesday's practice.
For the first time since Nov. 25, Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund were separated with Coyle and Granlund skating between Eric Staal, Koivu centering Nino Niederreiter and Zach Parise, and Hanzal centering Jason Zucker and Jason Pominville.
After having to fend off an early Blues attack in Game 3 and giving up an early goal, the Wild looked like it was facing a nervous, flat team in the first period of Game 4.
The Blues went the first 9:57 without a shot and didn't get their second until 1:51 left.
But finally, at the 16:50 mark, the Wild earned its first lead of a series that was 214 minutes, 2 seconds old.
The linesmen, mock-cheered throughout the first period for calling continuous icings on the Blues, actually played a role in this one by wiping out another on the Wild.
With one zebra screaming, "No ice, No ice," Allen strayed from his net and coughed up the puck to Coyle. In the midst of a solid series, Coyle buried his second goal in two games off the post and in from the right wall for a real-life Wild lead.
The Blues were much better and physical in the second, and the Wild _ 0 for 11 on 5-on-4 power plays in the series and fresh off failing to tie the game on four power plays in Game 3 _ failed to extend its lead to two goals on consecutive power plays.
But late in the period, just 42 seconds after a hustling Coyle stripped Vladimir Tarasenko of the puck on an odd-man rush, the Wild took that 2-0 lead.
Jason Pominville hit Hanzal crossing the blue line, he skated forward and wristed a 34-foot laser low stickside to beat Allen for his fifth career playoff goal and first since May 7, 2012.
Allen had been solid in the period, especially robbing Niederreiter after Alex Pietrangelo handed the 25-goal scorer a puck between the circles. But the Wild for the first time in the series actually scored more than one goal in a game.
Dubnyk, even though he had only allowed six goals in almost 10 periods entering the game, still was being poked and prodded by many entering the game. But Dubnyk was sensational, especially in the second period to preserve a one-goal lead and the third period when he made four saves on a Blues power play.
The Wild has 10 kills on 11 opportunities in the series.
The Wild also did another quality job smothering Tarasenko, the star who tied for fourth in the NHL with 39 goals in the regular season. He has no goals and two assists in four games.
