(St. Paul, MN) -- Things are good in Minnesota. The Wild have come off an excellent beginning of the 2011 calendar year, a January in which they went 9-3-0 and continued their ascent up the Western Conference standings. Not only that, but the Wild did it in nailbiting fashion, going to 4 overtime games and winning each and every one of them. The pieces have seemingly come together as Minny is just 3 points out of the top spot in the West and 9 points ahead of their next closest Northwest Division competitor (Vancouver, who've had an incredible resurgence of their own). But let's get down to business.

Week 1 (1st - 8th)

The Wild hit the ground running following a great end to December, besting the Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 to kick off the month. Then the offense stalled a bit for the following 3 games; a 2-1 win by the skin of their teeth over the New Jersey Devils thanks to Casey Wellman's 8th goal of the season with under 4 minutes remaining, followed by a 1-0 overtime win against a tough Boston Bruins outfit. The winner came off the stick of Guillaume Latendresse, his 16th tally of the year. Finally the Wild were brought down to Earth as their 8 game winning streak was snapped at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins, a 3-0 shutout loss to one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. Still, stars of the week honors go to Andrew Brunette, who scored twice including the game winner over Phoenix, and Martin Havlat, who assisted on 2 game winners and added another for the heck of it.

Week 2 (9th - 15th)

Martin Havlat's game has heated up, but he's back on the injured list.

Turning right around a night later back home in Minnesota after the tough shutout loss to the Pens, the Wild get taken to another sudden death or shootout scenario, and come out on top again; this time it was Mikko Koivu tying the game with 10 minutes left with his 9th goal of the season, then Brunette winning it in the extra frame just 32 seconds in for a 3-2 victory. On Tuesday, the 11th, the Wild were victims of revenge. The Nashville Predator, whom the Wild are 2-0-0 against this season with a 12-3 edge in goals/goals allowed, blanked the visitors 3-0. But just when it seemed that the colder weather had stalled the Wild offense a bit, they drop 6 goals on the Colorado Avalanche in a Friday night contest and win 6-5 in overtime versus their Northwest Division rivals. But not before the Wild surrender a 5-1 lead as the Avs storm back to tie the game with 4 consecutive goals. Luckily, Havlat bailed out the Wild with his 9th goal of the year, a game winner 1:45 into overtime. As such, Havlat was named the top player of the week for Minnesota, collecting 6 points (2 G, 4 A) in just 3 games; and the Wild were shut out in one of them!

Week 3 (16th - 22nd)

After the emotional game against Colorado, the Wild were bound to have a letdown and they did hosting the resurgent Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. The 'Nucks had been mired in a funk all throughout the first half of the season, but have picked it up as of late and have creeped up in the standings, both divisional and conference. On this night, they got the better of Minnesota, defeating them 2-1 with the lone Minnesota goal coming from Koivu with less then 3 minutes remaining to make it a 2-1 final. Unfortunately, Havlat, who's been rounding into form, suffered another health setback. This time it's a leg injury, and the diagnosis is about a month of missed action. Eric Nystrom will be re-inserted into the lineup to make up for the loss. On Tuesday and Wednesday the Wild made the cold trek up to North Canada for a back-to-back slate of games at Edmonton then Calgary. The end result was welcome; a wild back and forth contest against the Oilers ended in Minnesota's favor as they win 5-4 in overtie thanks to the game tying and winning goals by Koivu before Minny came back from a 2-0 1st period deficit to down the Flames 3-2 with 2 goals under 3 minutes left for the victory. Then, just as they did to finish out December, the Wild defeat San Jose in the second to last game of the month, this time 5-1 for their 29th win of the season. Co-stars of the week were brought to Mikko Koivu (4 G, 1 A) and Latendresse (1 G, 4 A) among others, including Brunette, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Cam Barker.

Week 4 (23rd - 29th)

With a record of 29-18-1, the Wild had just one game remaining in the month before calling it a wrap for January. The team had just the Chicago Blackhawks standing between them and their 30th win in their 49th game. As had been the MO of the month, the Wild played it close, scoring 3 straight goals between the second and third periods after initially falling behind 1-0, then fended off a 'Hawks rally that produced only 1 of the necessary 2 goals as Minnesota got their 30th win of the year and ended the first month of the new year in great fashion. The star of the week, but really just the game, would have to be Eric Nystrom. The Havlat fill-in, whose been in and out of the lineup as a healthy scratch and role player, had 2 goals in the win over Chicago.

Following the All-Star Game (Pierre-Marc Bouchard and goalie Nicklas Backstrom made the team), which will be held on January 30th in Raleigh, Carolina, the Wild get right back to work with a 15-game February schedule. The month is littered with middling teams, but do not overlook the pair of contests between Chicago and the Wild and Anaheim and the Wild. As usual, the later the season goes, the easier it is to separate the contenders from the pretenders.

TRANSACTION UPDATE: The Wild made a few moves upon the end of January. For starters, they claimed Ethan Moreau off waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets. He'll fit right in on the 4th line with John Madden and Antti Miettinen. Conspicuously missing from that line is center James Sheppard. That's because he was traded on the 30th to St. Louis for a 2nd round draft pick. Not a bad haul for a guy who hasn't quite panned out and didn't have much more of a future in St. Paul.

(St. Paul, MN) -- The 2010 calendar year is over. For the Wild, it's been a good one (if you're only counting the current season). Though the team stumbled a bit in December, they were able to recover in the last few games of the month and find themselves in the 3rd spot in the Western Conference despite just a 7-7-0 record the past 31 days.

WEEK 1 (1ST - 4TH)

The first half of the month was rough on the Wild, and the first week was the roughest of them all. The Wild opened December with a 5-3 loss to a pretty bad Phoenix Coyotes team, then Minny dropped a close 1-goal contest, 2-1, to the Calgary Flames, whom they'd beaten just 4 days earlier. But the killer was a 4-0 shutout loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday, the 4th. Forced into picking a star of the week, the only potential candidate would be Mikko Koivu, who had a goal and assist in the 3 losses. Such is the nature of the beast when the team isn't playing well.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard has been the Wild's best player so far, with over a point per game.

WEEK 2 (5TH - 11TH)

After the embarrassing week capped off by a shutout loss, the Wild had a 4 day break to regroup. It seemed to have paid off as the team was able to avenge their loss on the first of the month to the Coyotes, this time defeating the Desert Dogs in a 3-1 final. However, it was back to the skids two nights later in Los Angeles against the Kings. Tied 2-2 heading into the 3rd period, Nicklas Backstrom got beat by Dustin Brown with a tad over 4 minutes remaining in the game as the Kings skated away with a 3-2 win over the Wild. Team MVP honors went to Anttii Miettinen this week with a goal and assist in the 2 games played.

WEEK 3 (12TH - 18TH)

On the backend of a 2-games-in-2-nights series, the Wild took to NoCal after their SoCal visit to take on the Anaheim Ducks, one of the better teams in the NHL at this point. Up for this match, the Wild jumped out to a 3-0 lead through 2 periods and some change. Suddenly, the tides turned, as Ryan Festerling, Bobby Ryan, and Sheldon Brookbank scored consecutively to take the game to overtime. But Pierre-Marc Bouchard rescued the Wild by potting the 3rd goal of his 3 goal night just 38 seconds into overtime as Minnesota wins, 4-3, in overtime. A few days off helped a week ago, but this time, after a 3 day break, the Wild seemed rusty, falling 2-1 to the Ottawa Senators (near the top of the Eastern Conference). They followed that up with an ugly 5-1 loss to Calgary to close out the week. The obvious star of the week would be PM Bouchard, who scored 3 goals, all against Anaheim.

WEEK 4 (19TH - 25TH)

Remember that last game, a 5-1 loss to Calgary? Well, the result (a 5-1 loss) would be the same between the two teams on Monday, the 20th, this time in St. Paul. Then something clicked. Perhaps it was slipping out of the top half of the Western Conference due to being just 2-7-0 so far this month or just a wakeup call that losing a combined 10-2 to a division rival would not cut it if the Wild wanted to play with the big boys of the West. So just as they had for their game against Anaheim last week, the Wild got amped up for a contest against the Northwest Division-leading Colorado Avalanche, and they found themselves walking away from Denver with a 4-1 win to close out their week. Team MVP: Cam Barker, with 2 assists in the 2 games this week.

WEEK 5 (26TH - January 1ST)

With 4 games in 6 nights, with each against a top ranked Western Conference team, this would be Hell Week for Minnesota. Instead, in the spirit of the holidays, good fortune smiled upon the Wild. They kicked off the week with a 4-1 win against the ever-competitive Detroit Red Wings, getting sweet revenge for their 8-3 ass kicking a few weeks back, then followed it up a night later with a tight 2-1 winning final against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Wild kept the roll going on Wednesday, the 29th despite being behind the 8-ball of a 3-1 deficit midway through their game versus the San Jose Sharks. Consecutive goals by Matt Cullen, Joel Sheppard, and Casey Wellman (the latter being with just 14 seconds remaining) gave the Wild a slim lead, and they added an empty netter to make it a final of 5-3 over the Sharks for their 3rd straight win. They weren't done yet, though. The Wild welcomed the Nashville Predators, those of the 22-12-2 record, to the Xcel Energy Center to close out the 2010 year. Despite allowing a shorthanded goal to Jordin Tootoo to open the game, Minnesota rallied to the tune of 5 straight goals, including 2 by Bouchard to dispatch the Preds, 5-1 for their 4th straight win to vault them into the top spot in the division and 3rd overall in the conference.

So with the dust settled and the smoke cleared, the Wild righted the ship at the end of the month against the toughest section of their schedule, and were rewarded by moving up in the division and conference. Just a few games shy of the halfway point of the season, the Wild have shown they can skate with the best of the very best. Is it time to call Minnesota a legitimate playoff contender? The standings are starting to show whose here to stay and whose just a flash in the pan, but the picture is still a smidge blurry. If the Wild carry their late 2010 form into the fresh days of 2011, they can clear things up a bit.

(St. Paul, MN) -- The month of November was very giving to the Minnesota Wild. The 30 days yielded 8 wins, just 4 losses, and an overtime loss as the Wild made their way to 4th in the Western Conference and 2nd in the Northwest Division in what has been a competitive first portion of the season.

WEEK 1 (1st - 6th)

The Wild kicked off the month with a bang with a crazy back and forth game with the San Jose Sharks that resulted in a 6-5 win in overtime. The Wild followed that up with a loss to the Calgary Flames, but redeemed their week with a 3-2 win in a shootout over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The star of the week had to be defensemen Marek Zidlicky. The former Nashvile Predators blueliner registered a hat trick in the wild affair versus the Sharks, no easy feat for a player more known for his passing, though he is considered more of an offensive then defensive defensemen. Cal Clutterbuck, the 3rd line sparkplug of Minnesota, also had a good week, scoring in the games versus San Jose and Calgary to give him 4 for the season.

Matt Cullen's return has seemed to energize the club, as the Wild (who also got Mikko Koivu & Martin Havlat back from injury) sit in 4th in the West through November.

WEEK 2 (7th - 13th)

It was a short week for Minnesota, with just 2 games on the slate on Thursday the 11th and Friday the 12th. The back-to-back started off horribly, as the Thrashers laid a smackdown on the Wild to the tune of an 8-2 loss. Still, the club showed some resiliency by coming back the next night in Sunrise against the Florida Panthers, beating the hapless Cats, 6-3. This week's MVP was the Wild training staff; the team, riddled by injuries, got two good forwards back in captain Mikko Koivu and offseason acquisition Matt Cullen. Though Koivu's return was spoiled by the the beating at the hands of Atlanta, Cullen's went much better as the team won and he scored the first goal just 2 minutes, 33 seconds into the contest.

WEEK 3 (14th - 20th)

Following their short week, the Wild packed the schedule with 4 games in 7 nights, alternating home and away to make things a little tougher on the squad. But the team adjusted well early on, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road with a second consecutive 6-3 winning final, then coming back home to down the Anaheim Ducks, 3-2 on the strength of two goals by Koivu in his 3rd game back. Then the team hit the skids again, falling to a pair of Original 6 teams in the Detroit Red Wings (8-3 loss, including allowing 5 goals in the 3rd period) and New York Rangers (4-3 loss in a shootout) to end the week with 2 wins, 1 loss, and an overtime loss. The best player for the Wild this week was a tie between Cullen and Guillaume Latendresse. Cullen pocketed 5 points, including a 3 pointer in the Tampa Bay contest, while Latendresse picked up a goal in 3 of the 4 games to give him a team leading 9 on the season.

WEEK 4 (21st - 27th)

The first game of this week didn't occur until Wednesday the 24th, when the Wild hosted the Philadelphia Flyers. The team jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but it evaporated quickly, and the two squads traded goals throughout the contest until Nikolay Zherdev broke the trend with the 3rd goal of his 3 goal night late in the 3rd frame as the Flyers drop the Wild, 6-4 to increase the Minnesota winless streak to 3 games (3 seemed to be quite the trend for this one). The team didn't stay down for long, though, coming back 2 nights later and dropping a 7 goal bomb on the Nashville Predators as Mikko Koivu led the team with 2 goals in the 7-2 game, giving him 5 scores in his past 5 games. But the big test was the following night as Minnesota traveled to Denver to faceoff against the best team in the West and a Northwest Division rival, the surprising Colorado Avalanche. Sensing the magnitude of the game, the Wild jumped on the Avs early, and took a 4-2 lead into the 3rd period after a late Colorado goal in the previous stanza. The Avalanche's TJ Galiardi made it a 1-goal affair early in the 3rd, but Martin Havlat made it a 5-3 final with a late goal to seal the game. This week's top player was defensemen Brent Burns, who started out slow to this season but seems to have turned a corner this week; he registered 5 assists in the 3 games, and added a goal in the beatdown of the Preds for good measure. Runners up were Koivu with 5 points (2 G, 3 A), Pierre-Marc Bouchard (1 G, 3 A), and Andrew Brunette (1 G, 3 A).

WEEK 5 (28th - December 4th)

Not a full week by any means, as just one game remained in the month of November, but it was an important one. The Wild had to travel up to the Great White North of Canada to play the Flames in Calgary, whom they lost to 5-3 earlier in the month. It looked like more of the same as the Wild found themselves down 2-0 halfway through the game. But Guillaume Latendresse's team leading 12th goal early in the 3rd period opened a crack in the Calgary armor, and after goals separated by less then a minute by Casey Wellman (3) and Matt Cullen (8), the Wild found themselves up a goal. However, they couldn't hold either as Matt Stajan beat Nicklas Backstrom with 46 seconds left to make it a 3-3 game headed to overtime. A little bit past the halfway mark of the 5 minute extra session, the Wild came out as winners on a blast by Greg Zanon, the game winner and his 3rd of the 2010-2011 campaign, a happy ending to the end of the month for the Wild.

The victory will be shortlived, though. The Wild head back to the States for a home contest against the Phoenix Coyotes, who've struggled so far and sit in 14th in the 15-team Western Conference. Then it's a home rematch against the Flames and then down to Texas for the backend of a 2-games-in-2-nights deal against the Stars. Still, with the team healthy again and the pieces seeming to click on most cylinders, the Wild are in good position, maybe even a bit of a surprise so far. The season is just 23 games old, and the standings haven't separated the top squads from the middling teams, but as the temperatures drop, so will the pretenders. Minnesota, used to the brutal cold, hopes to stand the test of the dog days of winter as they look to return to the postseason for the first time since the 2007-2008 season.