LAS VEGAS _ As grim as the Wild's outlook has turned at times in recent weeks, the team hasn't fallen out of the Western Conference playoff picture _ a reflection of how cramped the standings have been amid up-and-down play from a cluster of teams.
So after a ho-hum 2-2 showing last week, all it took was a 4-2 win over the Golden Knights on Monday at T-Mobile Arena to lift the Wild to the third seed in the Central Division _ a position they have a chance to tighten their grip on when they faces the Avalanche on Wednesday in their final test before the All-Star break.
Winger Charlie Coyle broke a 2-2 tie 14 minutes, 29 seconds into the third period when he polished off a pass from defenseman Jared Spurgeon, capping off an impressive finish by the Wild after a slow start. Captain Mikko Koivu added an empty-net goal with 13 seconds to go, the 200th of his career.
The Wild pulled even with the Golden Knights amid a strong push in the second after the team fell behind in the opening period.
After a short-handed rush up ice by center Joel Eriksson Ek fizzled without a shot, the Golden Knights charged the other way and winger Alex Tuch buried a 2-on-1 pass from winger Jonathan Marchessault just 3:37 into the first.
Eriksson Ek made up for that gaffe in the next frame when he used a backhand pass to set up winger Marcus Foligno for a one-timer at 9:09 _ a goal that uncorked a boisterous cheer from the sizable contingent of Wild fans on hand in Las Vegas.
That goal seemed to galvanize the Wild because after a key save by goalie Devan Dubnyk on a breakaway try by winger Tomas Nosek, they moved ahead.
Rookie Jordan Greenway bulldozed his way through a crowd to scoop up the puck, take it to the net and his wraparound attempt landed right on the stick of center Eric Staal for the backdoor tap-in only 1:13 after Foligno's goal.
Staal has five goals in five career games against the Golden Knights.
Before the period ended, Vegas tied it at 2 on a shot through traffic by winger Max Pacioretty _ setting up a critical third period.
It started off dicey for the Wild, as they committed back-to-back penalties that included 1:12 of 5-on-3 power play time for the Golden Knights. But the team survived the pressure and finished 4-for-5 on the penalty kill. Its power play blanked on its two opportunities.
Dubnyk ended up with 30 saves. Marc-Andre Fleury had 18.
This improved the Wild to 4-0-1 against the Golden Knights.
