Down two goals heading into the third period, the Wild was looking for a spark.
"We needed something," coach Dean Evason said.
Although the coaches brainstormed a few lineup tweaks, they ultimately chose to put Victor Rask next to Kevin Fiala, and the two immediately clicked.
The Wild didn't come out on top, but the team did make it to overtime to snag a point in a 5-4 loss Thursday to the Blues. And after Rask and Fiala led the comeback, the duo remained together Saturday when the Wild again faced St. Louis at Xcel Energy Center.
"It just seemed natural to make that move," Evason said. "They've played together before, so it felt comfortable to us and fortunately it worked out and we got ourselves to overtime."
On their first shift in the third on Thursday, Rask set up Fiala for a goal, and later in the period, Fiala returned the favor — a finish that brought the Wild's deficit back to a goal after the Blues went up 4-2. The line, which was filled out by Marcus Johansson, was also on the ice in the final minute as the Wild vied for the tying goal, and again the Wild scored. Fiala fed Kirill Kaprizov with the goalie pulled and an extra attacker on the ice.
Rask and Fiala also saw ice time in overtime before the Wild's rally fell short, but the team seemed to have found a combination worth keeping intact for now.
"Me, Kevin and also JoJo have some good chemistry," Rask said. "It's nice when you can switch the lines when we were down a goal, and I think we did a good job. But obviously we wanted to win."
The goal by Rask, his eighth of the season, ended a 20-game drought for the center, but what Rask brings to the Wild isn't always measured in offense.
Aside from being the defensive base on his line, he also exudes a poise that the Wild values.
"He doesn't get rattled," Evason said. "He just goes about his business. Nights that things aren't going so good, he just stays with it. He's not a real excitable guy, but he's also not a guy that gets extremely down on himself. He just goes about his business. If you can say that a guy, he's a pro, it's quite a compliment, and he is.
"He's conducted himself very well that we use him clearly in a lot of different situations. We've been really happy with the way he's come along this year."
Bjugstad plays
Johansson did not play Saturday, sitting out with an upper-body injury.
Nick Bjugstad took Johansson's place alongside Rask and Fiala, Bjugstad's first game since suffering an upper-body injury on April 5. Bjugstad missed eight games with that injury and then was idle another four as a healthy scratch after getting cleared to return.
The Wild made only one other substitution, starting Kaapo Kahkonen in net after Cam Talbot played the previous two games.
Memorable month
Kaprizov finished April with 11 goals, a feat that put him in an exclusive club.
Only four other rookies have had more goals in a month since 1990-91.
Teemu Selanne (Winnipeg) scored 12 in January 1993 before racking up 20 in March later that year. Rob Gaudreau (San Jose) had 14 in December 1992, Petr Prucha (New York Rangers) registered 12 in December 2005 and Pavel Bure (Vancouver) also totaled 12 in March 1992.
Milestone point
With an assist Thursday, captain Jared Spurgeon recorded his 300th career point.
Spurgeon is the eighth player in Wild history to reach 300 and only the second defenseman.
Etc.
The Blues played Saturday without two key players. Forward Vladimir Tarasenko (lower body) and defenseman Torey Krug (upper body) were sidelined with injuries.
