Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 5, Stars 2

Wild.com's Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the Wild's 5-2 win against the Dallas Stars at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Thursday night:

1. Mikael Granlund looked pretty good.
It's been a bit of a slog for the Finnish winger of late, especially in the goal-scoring department. Stuck on 19 goals since he scored two goals against the Blues more than a month ago, Granlund was quick to dispel that streak by rifling a short-handed snapper past Kari Lehtonen at 16:02 of the first period.
The goal, which tied the game at 1-1, awoke the previously sleepy Wild, who rallied to even shots at 7-7 in the first, then rolled up three more goals in the second period.

Minnesota scored its first lead of the night on a power-play goal by Matt Dumba at 7:19, then gained a two-goal edge 59 seconds after that, with Granlund again playing a starring role.
After Dumba connected on a long outlet pass out of the defensive zone, Granlund skated along the right-wing wall, turned Stars defenseman Greg Pateryn inside out, the fed a crashing Zach Parise for a tap in.
How good was that play? Check out Parise's face after scoring the goal.

After posting just one assist in a five game stretch between March 10 and March 19, Granlund had two assists in the Wild's past three games entering play Thursday. Perhaps the his goal will kickstart a run for him in that department as well.
2. Minnesota's defense was flat-out offensive ... in a good way.
Ryan Suter dished out a pair of assists on the night, the first of which, on Granlund's short-handed tally, marked his 44th helper of the season, which set a new franchise record for single-season assists by a defenseman.
But he wasn't done, gaining the primary assist on Dumba's clapper later in the period for No. 45 on the year. With five games remaining in the season, it's not out of the question that Suter could approach 50 helpers.

Dumba also had an elite night -- more specifically, an elite second period.
His one-timer on the power play was a thing of beauty while his long pass to Granlund ignited Parise's goal as well.

Dumba then was part of Jason Zucker's power-play goal, entering the zone 3-on-2 with Zucker and Eric Staal. Dumba tipped a puck to Staal to keep the rush alive, who then found Zucker on the back door with 10.1 seconds remaining in the second, a goal that took the wind out of the Dallas sails. He added one more assist on a last-minute empty-net goal from Parise.
3. Goaltender Devan Dubnyk continued his stellar play, making 29 saves in the win.
It's been a solid run for Wild goaltenders over the past seven, as Dubnyk and Alex Stalock have combined to give up just 14 goals during that stretch. Minnesota has gained at least one point in the standings in each one of those contests, posting a 4-0-3 record during that stretch.
Dubnyk has been between the posts in five of those seven games, allowing two goals or fewer four times and three goals or fewer three times.

The win on Thursday gives the Wild 96 points in the standings, moving it five clear of the St. Louis Blues (who have one game in hand) and more importantly, six up on the Colorado Avalanche, the first team outside the Western Conference playoff picture.
It also assured that Dallas, the West's 10th place outfit, can no longer catch the Wild in the standings.
The two teams will clash again in Big D at the American Airlines Center on Saturday as the Wild aims to improve its playoff positioning even further.
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