ST. PAUL, Minn. _ A timeout from hockey didn't slow the Wild.
Instead, it only seemed to rejuvenate the team.
In their first game after taking a mandatory five-day break, the Wild got the jump on the Tampa Bay Lightning, holding on to win 5-2 in front of an announced 19,007 at Xcel Energy Center.
The victory extended the Wild's point streak to five games.
By continuing its torrid run on home ice, which stands at 13-1-3, the team also sealed Tampa Bay's first three-game losing streak of the season _ a feat that made the Wild's return even more impressive.
Ten Wild players tallied at least a point, with center Eric Staal leading the way with a pair of assists and winger Zach Parise burying his first goal of the season after missing most of the first half because of a herniated disk and subsequent back surgery.
Since the team practiced only once before resuming action, a solid start in which the Wild players found their legs and regained a feel for the puck was key.
And the team accomplished both, setting an up-tempo pace instead of being forced into it by the Lightning's talented forwards.
After winger Tyler Ennis was crushed by a neutral-zone check from winger Ryan Callahan, defenseman Nate Prosser was hit with four minutes of roughing penalties for confronting Callahan.
But the penalty kill sustained the team's early momentum by preventing the Lightning from scoring.
Ennis, meanwhile, missed the remainder of the first but returned for the second.
Despite being down a player the rest of the period, the Wild didn't play like it was short-handed.
On its first power play, it converted after just 2 seconds when defenseman Jared Spurgeon walked into a faceoff win by Staal 10 minutes, 7 seconds into the first.
Later in the period, the Wild scored another after a seeing-eye shot from defenseman Ryan Suter found its way behind Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy at 17:24 amid heavy traffic.
The Lightning challenged the goal to determine if there was goaltender interference. The goal stood, but credit was shifted to Parise, who tipped the puck past Vasilevskiy for his first goal since a playoff score last year in Game 2 against the Blues on April 14.
The Wild didn't let up in the second, with another native Minnesotan contributing on Hockey Day Minnesota.
Prosser, who is from Elk River, snuck a shot in between the post and Vasilevskiy's left arm at 7:11, and winger Kyle Rau _ the former Minnesota Gophers captain hailing from Eden Prairie _ assisted on the goal in his Wild debut. Center Joel Eriksson Ek also earned an assist on the play after his tenacious cycle behind the net set up for Prosser's shot.
Tampa Bay certainly wasn't skating like the team that cruised to the top of the NHL's leaderboard with blistering speed and remarkable skill, boasting just nine shots late in the second period.
But No. 10 was successful, as center Brayden Point's shot up the middle scooted by goalie Devan Dubnyk at 15:35.
A one-timer from winger Marcus Foligno 3:10 into the third reinstated the Wild's three-goal lead. With an assist on the play, center Matt Cullen notched his 700th career point.
The Lightning, however, didn't fade and a 5-on-3 goal from Point at 6:37 trimmed the deficit to 2 after the Wild unsuccessfully challenged goalie interference.
Jason Zucker flicked in an empty-net goal with 58. 4 seconds left to secure the victory.
