One more game before the Wild take their mandated bye week and it's a big one with the second place Blackhawks.

It's still February, but it is pretty clear that the Central is a two team race with the Wild in position to put the Hawks further in the rear view mirror and build on their seven point lead tomorrow night in St. Paul.

The Koivu, Granlund, Zucker line drove the Wild on Saturday, much as they have since being united back in November. They continue to thrive primarily due to the fact that they take care of business in their own zone first which leads to puck possession. Once they have the puck, the legs are always moving, and the speed and creativity takes over.

All three are relentless workers and continuously keep the legs churning which makes them very difficult to play against, while creating lanes for them to move the puck quickly. Mikko Koivu is one of the best face-off guys in the league and has always been strong in the defensive zone. His vision and play making ability is showing more in Bruce Boudreau's system, but more importantly is the connection with fellow Fin Mikael Granlund. Granlund has always had the vision and elite level skill.

Granlund on the wing has unlocked the potential of Granlund at the NHL level. A lot of credit for that move must go to former Wild coach, John Torchetti, who moved him to the wing after taking over from Mike Yeo a year ago. Boudreau united Granlund with Zucker and Koivu and the results for the trio as well as the Wild have been amazing ever since.

It is no secret that the Wild are not a one line team, or led by a superstar player. They are a four line team for sure with 10 players with double digit goals this season. It seems like every night it is a different line doing the damage.

In order to be able to sustain the winning formula, they will need to continue this trend. I find it very interesting though how the analysts focus on Wild players that are either streaking well or dealing with a scoring drought. When you have a team as balanced as the Wild are that will always be the case.

The fact is that on any given night the Wild have four lines that can score no matter what combinations Boudreau uses on his other three lines.

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