The Wild's perfect storm is part of the process – Minnesota Wild

The atmosphere was high in St. Paul on Tuesday evening. After rallying from a 2-1 deficit earlier in the evening, the Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks found themselves in the final seconds of overtime and virtually on their way to a shootout.

Brock Boesers shot on a 2-on-0 breakaway, hit the post and landed on Marco Rossi's stick, leading to a 2-on-1 rush for Minnesota. After entering the zone, Rossi fed Kirill Kaprizov for the game winning goalsending Shout over the Xcel Energy Center speakers and prompting Jake Middleton Unpleasant shout 2×4 Titty for a sold out audience.

The win gave the Wild the best record in the NHL and gave fans the kind of high reserved for the best teams in Minnesota sports history. Quick starts happen in sports, but it's hard to believe the Wild started so quickly to open the season.

So is the Wilds trial just a dream year or part of Bill Guerin's? process? To find that out you would have to go back in time.

A year ago, the atmosphere in Minnesota wasn't that high. They got off to a miserable start and injuries piled up. The wilderness dismissedDean Evason after a 5-10-4 start. Although they won their first three games under John Hynes, they still had an 8-10-4 record that all but wiped out their chances of making the playoffs.

When you look back at that roster, it's pretty much the same as what the Wild are putting out now. TheMats Zuccarello, Marcus Foligno and Ryan Hartmancore gave Minnesota a veteran presence. Meanwhile, Joel Eriksson Ek, Matt Boldy and Kaprizov briefly became the NHL's top scoring line in early February. Still, it felt like something was missing.

One of the biggest areas for the Wilds downfall was their defense. Jared Spurgeon's collection of shoulder, hip and back injuries ended his season after 16 games, and Jonas Brodin spent time on and off the injured list. The injuries pushed Brock Faber into a top role, and Middleton was inconsistent without him.

There were also problems with the Wilds' goaltending. According to According to NHL Edge stats, Filip Gustavsson was a below-average goaltender, and Marc-Andre Fleury couldn't carry the load at this stage of his Hall of Fame career.

Then there were the bottom six, which didn't come as advertised. People criticized Guerin for the long-term extensions that locked up Zuccarello, Foligno and Hartman, and other players like Gaudreau and Marcus Johansson didn't provide the depth the Wild needed to keep up.

But that's where the process began. Hynes is entering his first offseason as head coach dismissed Darby Hendrickson and replaced him with Jack Capuano to improve their special teams. Hynes urged Gustavsson tried to get in shape even as his name was floating around in trade rumors.

Hartman suggested that the Wild weren't a team that would be difficult to play against when he packed up his locker. Foligno and Spurgeon were among the many players entering the summer looking to bounce back from a physically demanding year.

In terms of personnel, the Wild are not much different than they were a year ago. Outside Yakov Trenin and Jakub LaukoGuerin couldn't do much on the free agent or trade market due to salary cap issues due to the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Even the Patrik Laine acquisition rumor didn't materialize, in part because the Wild needed the Columbus Blue Jackets to retain his salary in any trade, which ultimately led to Laine ending up in Montreal.

Training camp was filled with the rhetoric you hear in all sports. Everyone is rejuvenated and in the best shape of their lives. However, Guerin caught everyone's attention when he suggested that Boldy could become a 50/50 player. However, there were several steps the Wild took to become a contender, and they started when the regular season started.

Some improvements for the Wild were expected. Kaprizov has always been known as an elite player, but this season he has reached another level. Tuesday's winning goal puts him level with Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas for the league lead.

But Kaprizov wasn't the problem; He's had elite seasons before. The bigger problem is that he didn't get much help until this season.

Boldy was given high expectations at the age of 23, but he did his best to live up to them. His passing remains the best part of his game with 13 assists, but he has added a goal scorer with 11 goals in his first 25 games. Boldy still has goal lapses that plague him from time to time. He has one goal in his last nine games, but it hasn't hurt the Wild much because of the unsung players stepping up.

Rossi has 20 points, 10 of which came in the third period or overtime. Zuccarello had 14 points in 16 games before an errant Faber slapshot sidelined him. Gaudreau has 14 points as a fourth-line penalty taker, and Middleton has five goals and 13 points in what has become a breakout year.

Outside of Rossi and Zuccarello, you probably didn't see your favorite fourth liner become a force. But you could see a return to health that allows Foligno and Spurgeon to play more often, which has helped the Wild regain their strength.

Spurgeon and Brodin's reunion on the top line has gone as planned, allowing Faber to pair with Middleton on the second line. Having two solid lines has helped the Wild defense rank fourth in expected goals against this season. The third duo of Zach Bogosian and Declan Chisholm has also played well enough to be useful at the back.

Minnesota has defensive depth after acquiring former top-five pick David Jiricek on Saturday. While the 21-year-old is not a finished product, he can serve a purpose in the short term by refining his game and stepping in when an opportunity presents itself.

This has helped Gustavsson have a bounce-back year, where he leads the league in save percentage (.929) and goals-against average (2.04). However, it was more than just the defense that did the heavy lifting.

Of the NHL Edges stats, Gustavsson ranks no lower than the 69th percentile in all but one. And even in that case, it's something he has no control over. He averages below the 50th percentile in goals (2.72).

Gustavsson's resurgence also goes beyond the statistics. He just looks calmer floating around the crease. Opponents aren't getting the juicy rebounds he allowed last season. While the defense helps, he does his part by staying in control throughout the match and eliminating some of the soft goals he allowed a year ago.

All things considered, this Wild team is a perfect storm that has risen to the top of the NHL standings. But it's also a team that achieved this goal through a defined process, rather than a bouncing puck that lands on an MVP candidate's stick.

The elephant in the room? Minnesota still needs to beat the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche in the Central Division. But most importantly, this process has put them in a position to end that story. There are still three quarters of the season to go. Any signs of adversity, whether falling behind in a game or a critical injury, have not yet derailed Minnesota.

It's why the Wild are off to a dream start that could turn into a dream season by the time April rolls around.