A dozen games into the season, there are signs that the Wild is starting to buy what Mike Yeo is selling.
It goes beyond three victories in a row.
• The Wild coach marches off the ice Tuesday in Detroit because of a poor morning skate. The Wild follows it up with what players called one of the best practices, then morning skates of the season on Wednesday and Thursday.
• The Wild coach challenges struggling Marek Zidlicky very publicly, and the veteran defenseman responds by being on for four of the Wild's five goals in Thursday's rout of Vancouver.
• The Wild coach demands shots and plenty of them, and the Wild peppers the Canucks with 45.
• The Wild coach reworks his top two lines against the Canucks, and the response is an offensive outburst like no other in recent Wild memory.
"I think we're definitely growing," said fourth-line right winger Brad Staubitz, who emotionally charged his team Thursday with a second-period scrap that saw a 1-0 deficit turn into a 2-1 Wild lead 73 seconds later.
"We know what [Yeo] expects from us. I think guys have bought in. We're still piecing it together, but we know what we want to become. We've seen glimpses of it, and games like [Thursday] give us an idea of the type of team we can be."
Saturday against St. Louis, the Wild will search for a fourth consecutive victory as Yeo comes back with red-hot goalie Josh Harding for a fourth game in a row. Yeo spent much of Friday's practice stressing to his confident team that "winners are never satisfied."
He thought players worked hard in practice but were too loose after the big victory.
"We can all sit here, and even myself, and it's really easy to get caught up in feeling good," Yeo said. "But we better be ready [Saturday]. We better be ready to bring a hard-fought effort to the game. I don't expect things to come that easily for us."
As veteran Matt Cullen said, "It's easy to fall into [overconfidence]. That's the challenge for our team. We haven't done anything yet. We've won a few games here. We're showing signs that we can be a good team, but we haven't done anything."
Yeo knows that even though the Wild played well against the Canucks, Vancouver's "A game" was forgotten 1,500 miles away.
"I mean, we could have scored a lot of goals," Yeo said.
But the Wild clearly is making strides, especially when it comes to details within its system. When the Wild plays well, it gets pucks behind the defense and grinds opponents down with an aggressive, physical forecheck, proper positioning and sticks in passing lanes.
That's why in a few games this season -- Vancouver, Edmonton, the Islanders being most apparent -- the Wild has forced opposing players into routine turnovers in their end.
"Skill guys, if you give them time and space and they think it's an easy game, then they'll burn you," Yeo said. "But if you can put them under some kind of duress and make them feel some sort of pressure, then they're only human, too."
Smothering D
Defensively, the Wild has been exceptional. It has allowed 2.0 goals per game, the second fewest in the NHL. It has allowed 15 even-strength goals, third fewest in the NHL.
It starts with spending time in the offensive zone, but the Wild has been terrific with its defensive-zone coverage.
"You get that feel that there's been a progression," said Cullen, who said he "probably" played the best game of his 14-year career Thursday with two goals, an assist, nine shots and a 13-for-17 success rate in the faceoff circle. "I think guys are getting more comfortable with the system. For a lot of guys it's a big adjustment from what they've played the last few years to this. Guys are responding to what they're being asked to do."
Cullen particularly loves the system because it allows the centers the freedom "to just go. You see a hole, jump."
"It's a pressure game. I like playing that style," Cullen said. "In a lot of systems, you almost feel you're at the other team's mercy and have to wait until they make a mistake. And now, you can force turnovers and force things to happen and initiate."
But it doesn't take much in the competitive NHL to lose your way. That's why Yeo is trying to keep his team's collective head on straight.
"You lose one game in this league," center Darroll Powe said, "and you see how big of an impact it has on the standings. So there's really no time to rest. You've got to keep pushing and keep winning games.
"It's amazing what one loss can do to you, but on the same note, string a few wins together, and you can take off."
