With last night's Wild victory they now have matched their season win total for all of last season at 38 through just 57 games. A tremendous accomplishment for sure, but their is still a lot of work to be done.

The Wild effort last night was not exactly their best and it was evident with Bruce Boudreau's comments after the game. He said that he thought the Stars "probably felt like the Wild did after Tuesday's 1-0 loss to Anaheim." He also commented that "his team seemed to be skating in quick sand" in reference to the pace of play that they exhibited for the good majority of the game last night.

The bright spots of course were Darcy Kuemper, whom Boudreau, referred to as the best player on the ice for the Wild last night. High praise for the Wild backup netminder, who quietly is becoming one of the better backups in the entire league. Another bright spot was Jordan Schroeder and his linemates Chris Stewart and Erik Haula. Schroeder has been in and out of the lineup of late and really showed that he brings a dimension to the Wild depth lines that is very valuable, with his speed, grit, and heart.

The Wild Western Conference lead now is seven points over the Chicago Blackhawks with both teams having played 57 games. The two will meet once again in St. Paul on Tuesday night, before the Wild go on their mandated 5 day bye week. Not to look too far ahead though as the Predators come to town tomorrow night in another key Central Division matchup.

The victory last night also continued the Wild streak of not losing back to back games since November 5th, when they lost to the Avalanche 1-0, which was following their 2-1 home loss to the Sabres on November 1st. An impressive stretch of games 31-9-5 since that loss at Colorado.

The trade deadline is getting closer and closer and the phone lines are heating up. The Wild injuries to the D corps, with Dumba and Brodin out, has given Boudreau the ability to see what some of his depth guys can do there. Boudreau continues to tinker with the forward lineup on a game by game basis to determine who can and will step up.

The thought is that the Wild will make a move to add some depth, and I am hearing the names Martin Hanzal and Patrick Eaves being bandied about. The guy that intrigues me though, is Brian Boyle from Tampa who is due to become a UFA at season's end. Boyle is a tremendous penalty killer, a huge body, and great face-off man. He is also a proven playoff performer with a long recent history of going far in the playoffs.

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