ST. PAUL, Minn. _ It wasn't one of the splashy trades executed before the deadline expired Monday, but no one in the NHL might be reaping more out of a recent tweak to its lineup than the Wild are from the decision to unite center Eric Staal with wingers Jason Zucker and Mikael Granlund.
That trio was magnificent yet again, with a hat trick from Staal headlining the 8-3 rout of the Blues on Tuesday at Xcel Energy Center that tied the franchise record for goals and extended the Wild's win streak to a season-best five games.
Staal assisted on two others, racking up a season-high five points. Zucker had a career-high five points, a goal and four assists, while Granlund scored twice and added two assists _ this after Staal scored the game-tying goal Sunday and Zucker set up the overtime winner against the Sharks.
In the game before that, when the line was formed, it created all the offense in a 4-1 win over the Rangers on Friday.
Overall, at least one of the three has had a hand in 13 of the Wild's last 15 goals _ a whopping 87 percent _ and the three have combined for 26 points in the last three games.
The unit chipped in its first just 2 minutes, 57 seconds after puck drop on the power play.
After Staal won the draw, Zucker tipped in a point shot from defenseman Ryan Suter.
Less than five minutes later, the line capitalized again when Granlund got a piece of a Staal shot in the slot to push it past Blues goalie Jake Allen at 7:13.
But the Blues, who had been blanked in their last two games and lost six straight, fought back.
Winger Vladimir Tarasenko snapped the team's shutout streak at 15:23 when he wristed a shot by goalie Devan Dubnyk with 10:01 remaining in the first.
The Wild reinstated their two-goal cushion at 11:17 when Granlund batted the puck out of midair after a deflection hit him in the chest.
Allen, who had just five saves, was replaced by Carter Hutton for the second.
St. Louis again moved within one after captain Alex Pietrangelo slid the puck around Dubnyk only 15 seconds into the second after breaking in on a two-on-one look.
Dubnyk was slow to get up after the goal; he took defenseman Matt Dumba's skate to the head, as Dumba crashed into Dubnyk during the play. But after getting evaluated on the ice, Dubnyk was able to keep playing. He totaled 22 saves.
And he was given a bit more breathing room, with the Wild going up 5-2. Staal buried a rebound on the power play at 8:19, and captain Mikko Koivu added more insurance with 2:53 to go in the second.
Just 1:25 later on their own power play, the Blues responded with Tarasenko's second of the game. The Wild finished 2-for-6 with the man advantage, and the Blues went 1-for-6.
But with 15 seconds left, defenseman Jared Spurgeon's shot snuck through traffic to give the Wild a three-goal edge that would morph into four 7:46 into the third.
That's when Staal split the defense for a breakaway and roofed the puck over Hutton, who had 20 stops. Hats rained down on the ice, since Granlund's first goal was initially credited to Staal, but teed up an accurate encore when he wired in a loose puck at 10:54 for his team-leading 33rd goal and 14th career hat trick. In his last five games, Staal _ the league's reigning first star of the week _ has seven goals and 12 points.
