Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 5, Avalanche 2

Wild.com's Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the Wild's 5-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center in Denver on Wednesday night:

1. Major props to Wild defenseman Nick Seeler.
He didn't find the scoresheet in Minnesota's win on Wednesday night, but it's entirely possible the win doesn't happen without him.
Late in the second period, with the Wild clinging to a 3-2 lead, Colorado came charging hard. It had Minnesota pinned for a good 45 seconds in its defensive zone. The Wild was exhausted and needed a change, but it couldn't get possession of the puck.
Enter Seeler, who stepped in front of, not one, not two, but three Avalanche shots. First, he got himself in front of Mikko Rantanen shot, blocking it with the inside of his right leg.

Still smarting from that, he got a stick on Rantanen's next try a few seconds later.
Exhausted and still in pain, Seeler risked everything with his last block. With defenseman Ryan Graves in possession of the puck at the left point, the big lefty waited a couple seconds then loaded up a big time slapper.
Seeler, barely able to move, was late to take away time and space ... but he didn't shy away, leading with his chin to keep the puck away from the net.
For good measure, Marcus Foligno stepped in front of another Graves blast about five seconds later before the Wild finally got control and was able to get a line change.
Fittingly, the Wild rewarded Seeler's bravery with a pretty goal about 90 seconds later, extending its lead to 4-2 after 40 minutes.

2. Eric Staal scored twice, tallying his 16th and 17th goals of the season while continuing a positive trend.
Few expected Staal to equal his 42-goal campaign from a year ago, but the first part of the season has been an inconsistent one for the former All-Star.
One of the low points for both he and the team came Jan. 12 in a loss to the Detroit Red Wings. After that game, Staal called out himself and insisted that he needed to play better.

From that moment on, he's been like his old 42-goal self.
Staal scored twice on Wednesday and now has four in six games since the Red Wings game. He's also posted three assists in that span and is a plus-5. He has at least one point in five of those six games, with three of those games being multi-point efforts.

The Wild has to hope the 34-year-old Staal gets some good rest over the next eight days and can pick up right where he left off. A monster second half from him would go a long ways towards Minnesota securing a seventh-straight postseason bid.
3. The Wild heads to the break riding high.
What a difference a week can make. Last Thursday, the Wild lost 3-0 on home ice to the Anaheim Ducks, a victory which snapped their 12-game winless streak.

But Minnesota has won all three games since, each against a team currently slated to be in the postseason. Following a 2-1 win over Columbus on Hockey Day, the Wild hit the road and scored big wins over Vegas on Monday and in Colorado on Wednesday.

The win over the Avs was extra huge. Minnesota entered the night one point clear of Colorado for third place in the Central Division standings. That lead is now three as both teams head for an extended layoff.
Counting a shootout win over the Kings on Jan. 15, the Wild heads to the All-Star break winners in four of its past five contests.