Wild ride four-game winning streak into playoffs
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Minnesota Wild coach Bruce Boudreau expressed little concern over his team's 4-10-2 March swoon that allowed the Chicago Blackhawks to climb past Minnesota and secure the Central Division title and the Western Conference's top seed.
"Once the playoffs come, everybody's got a different mindset," Boudreau said. "I don't think they're going to think of slumps or not being able to score or anything else. They're just going to be thinking about playing the right way and winning."
The Wild may be back on that track. Erik Haula, Eric Staal and Martin Hanzal scored and Darcy Kuemper made 20 saves as the Wild finished the regular season with its fourth straight victory, a 3-1 decision over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday at Gila River Arena.
Minnesota is 11-1-2 in the past 14 games against Arizona and has at least one point in 11 straight games, equaling the longest point streak against one opponent in franchise history. The Wild set franchise records with its 49th victory and 106th point.
The loss was the first in regulation for the Coyotes in their last five games (3-1-1). Brendan Perlini scored and Mike Smith made 42 saves for Arizona.
Minnesota took a 1-0 lead at 4:13 of the first period when Smith elected to pass the puck from behind his net to teammate Jordan Martinook in the slot. Martinook mishandled the puck, Haula stole it and slammed it into the open net for his 15th goal of the season.
Staal widened the lead to 2-0 at 10:47 when Smith lost his stick to the left of the net. Charlie Coyle sent a pass to Staal at the left circle and he beat Smith inside the near post for his 28th of the season.
Arizona cut the lead to 2-1 at 2:59 of the third period when Perlini collected a big rebound of Shane Doan's initial slapshot and beat Kuemper for his 14th goal of the season.
Hanzal, a Coyote for nearly 10 seasons, restored the two-goal lead when he buried Mikko Koivu's pass at 13:35 for his career-high 20th goal of the season.
NOTES: Wild coach Bruce Boudreau gave C Mikael Granlund the night off. Granlund, who had played 199 consecutive games, was a point from becoming the Wild's first 70-point scorer since Mikko Koivu did it in 2009-10, but Boudreau felt rest was more important. ... Wild D Jared Spurgeon was able to play after missing Thursday's game in Denver with a lower-body injury, but Boudreau also elected to rest him and slumping G Devan Dubnyk, who has an .895 save percentage in 17 games since March 1. ... Saturday's game marked the return to Arizona of former Coyote Martin Hanzal, who spent nearly 10 seasons with the franchise before Arizona shipped him to Minnesota at this year's trade deadline. ... Coyotes captain Shane Doan has not decided if he will retire and has not set a timeline for making his decision. ... D Zbynek Michalek played only his second game for the Coyotes this season, after spending most of his time with Tucson of the AHL. Michalek's contract expires in June and he will likely leave the NHL to play in Europe. ... Minor leaguer Craig Cunningham dropped the puck for a ceremonial face-off. Cunningham collapsed on the ice earlier this season before a game with Tucson of the AHL and nearly died from a heart attack. Part of his left leg was amputated to save his life.