Extra attacker has provided Wild with a big extra boost this season

ST. PAUL -- Leave it to the Wild's never-too-high, never-too-low head coach to bring a dose of reality -- and maybe some levity -- to Minnesota's historically good 6-on-5 play this season.
The Wild scored twice with the extra attacker on Sunday against the Dallas Stars, turning a 4-1 game into 4-3 with nearly two minutes of time remaining for yet another kick at the can.
Minnesota has now scored 17 times this season at 6-on-5, which leads the NHL by far and is indeed scoring at a historic rate.

"We've pulled the goalie a lot. That's not good," Evason said, a wry smile crossing his face. "We don't want to be pulling our goaltender with eight minutes [remaining], that means we're not setting ourselves up at the end of hockey games."

And while Evason makes a good point about the circumstances surrounding the team's 6-on-5 success this season, some of the league's best teams rank near the top of the NHL in those same situations.
Tampa Bay ranks second in 6-on-5 success, having scored 10 times this season. They're the only other team in double figures.
Colorado is third with seven goals at 6-on-5. Vegas is fourth with six.
All four clubs currently sit inside the playoff bubble, with clubs like Colorado and Tampa Bay ranking at or near the top of the NHL standings this season, so scoring 6-on-5 isn't something just bad teams do.
In fact, it's quite the opposite.
Minnesota's 17 6-on-5 goals doesn't just blow everyone else out of the water this season, it's by far the most success any team has had since at least 2009-10, when NHL.com began its stats platform.

Since 2009-10, just five teams have reached even 10 goals at 6-on-5 in a single 82-game season. The Wild sits well above that number and there's still 28 games left to play.
At their current rate, the Wild could approach 25 goals at 6-on-5, which would more than double the second-most 6-on-5 success over the past 15 years. Before this season, the 2015-16 Toronto Maple Leafs and their 12 goals 6-on-5 were the most during that span.
"It has been working well for us the whole season," said Wild forward Kevin Fiala. "I think getting pucks on net from everywhere and from the top, I think having guys in front of the net just battling. Loose pucks, we're getting back and settling pucks and shooting again. It's been working for us."

Fiala said that desperation factor also brings an element, as does the team's need to simplify everything in those situations.
Down a goal or two late in the game and with no goaltender in the opposite end of the ice, the Wild can't afford to get crazy or take needless risks for fear of the puck going the other way.
Instead, the Wild has managed to simplify its game and worry about getting pucks to the net. It also has the personnel to create time and space for one another despite the fact that there is less real estate available in the offensive end.
"We have the guys that go over the boards that know their positions, we're not just throwing out random guys," said Wild forward Marcus Foligno. "We don't panic with the puck. We take our time and we know that if you're playing defensive 6-on-5, you don't want to be running and gunning. You have an extra guy out there, so you're always going to have a guy open."

Minnesota has had plenty of practice at it this season as well. The Wild's 6-on-5 attack has earned it points, drawing the team even in eventual wins against Winnipeg in the home opener as well as in Pittsburgh and against Washington, where it prevailed in shootouts and versus Chicago on Hockey Day Minnesota.
The extra attacker also earned single points in shootout losses in Tampa Bay and Colorado. That's 10 points in the standings that may not otherwise be in the Wild's pockets if not for its 6-on-5 success.

"There's a commitment level there," Evason said. "There's an understanding of what we want to do when we get in those spots. I think the guys take some pride in it, and we've probably worked on it too much, but they know what they're doing."
Personnel helps too. Between Fiala, Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, just to name a few, the Wild has a number of skilled options.
"You get special players that know how to buy time and pass through guys and bypass guys, that helps," Foligno said. "You always have one guy that's in a shooting area and we seem to find a way to get it done, take smart shots and take advantage of those opportunities."

The hope is that the Wild will be in positions down the stretch where it won't have to rely on its 6-on-5 nearly as much, and that it will be defending leads late instead of trying to draw even.
But the Wild hasn't shrunk from those big spots this season.
"More than anything, it's the confidence going over the boards," Foligno said. "We don't look at the 6-on-5 and have the mindset of, 'oh no, we're going to get scored on.' We have guys that buy in and we want to score. That's our mentality with it."