Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 4, Coyotes 1

Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the Wild's 4-1 victory against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center:

1. For the first time in his NHL career, Tyler Graovac scored standing up.
Graovac, who scored his first two goals in the League earlier this season while falling down both times, finished one off on his skates this time around.
The play started in the defensive zone when Graovac blocked a shot, then chased down a loose puck at neutral. Spearheading a 2-on-1 break down the right-wing wall, Graovac toe-dragged around Coyotes defenseman Connor Murphy then slid a shot toward the crease that banked in off goaltender Mike Smith's right pad and through the five-hole.

"I've had tons of chances. It's nice that one was more of a lucky one," Graovac said. "I kept staying positive and kept trying to get it to the net. Supporting through the middle is the biggest thing for me and pushing the pace. So one of them had to go in."
Graovac's goal made it 2-0 midway through the second and he had two other golden opportunities later in the period to extend the lead even further.
"It was [a] pretty complete [game]. I think he could've had three or four goals," said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau. "When we say it's his best game, I say its his best game because we really noticed him. He didn't play six minutes. He played 18 minutes or almost 19 minutes. You noticed him doing some pretty good things."
If Erik Haula is to miss extended time with the lower-body injury that knocked him from the game in the first period, Graovac could be in line for a bigger role moving forward.
"I think I've tried to prove that I can do a little more than just play that fourth-line role," Graovac said. "I don't know how long Erik is going to be out for. Hopefully not long at all. If they need me to play special teams or something, I'll try my best and we'll see what happens."
2. Playing time has been at a premium for Darcy Kuemper, who made his first start since Nov. 29.
Kuemper has been plagued by inconsistency this season, and understandably so; Saturday's start was just his sixth of the season so far.

While the Coyotes (11-15-5) didn't pepper the Wild netminder with oodles of great scoring chances, oftentimes it's those kinds of games that can present bigger challenges.
While the Wild spent seemingly all of the second period in the offensive zone, Kuemper was able to turn away all nine shots he faced in the frame, allowing Minnesota to build a multi-goal lead.
"You just gotta stay focused. It's part of the gig," Kuemper said. "Usually when you're not getting many shots it's because your team's doing a lot of good things. You just gotta stay ready and be there for them when you're called upon."
When he was faced with grade-A opportunities, like Tobias Rieder's chance in the first period, he was up to the task. Rieder gained control of the puck near the offensive blue line and meandered around a Wild skater, finding himself all alone in the slot. His shot was headed netward until Kuemper snatched it out of the air with a sprawling glove save, maintaining (at the time) a 0-0 score.

"You could tell he was sharp," Boudreau said. "In the Vancouver game, for example, even though he made some great saves, he didn't have the glove hand snapping, it was bouncing off his glove hand a couple times. And today, especially when Rieder came off the bench and got that shot in the slot, he just snagged it. Those are the ones that gives the coach a lot of confidence."
Kuemper's bid for his eighth career shutout was stymied by Brendan Perlini's goal with 1:54 remaining, but it was still a solid outing for the Saskatoon native, who is likely to draw in again next week when the Wild plays back-to-back games in Montreal and New York.
3. Ryan Suter got the Wild (18-8-4) on the board in the first period as he continues his breakout season offensively.
While his torrid offensive pace to start the year has slowed recently, Suter potted his fifth goal of the season, putting him on pace to easily surpass his previous career high of eight, which he tied last season and equalled two other times.

Suter also accumulated a plus-3 on Saturday, moving to a plus-22 on the season, a number that leads the NHL. While plus/minus is certainly an imperfect stat, a plus-22 at this point in the season is nearly unprecedented. Entering the season, Suter was a plus-34 over his first four seasons in a Wild uniform, the best career plus/minus by a defenseman in franchise history.
Keith Carney holds the single-season Wild record for plus/minus when he accumulated a plus-22 during the 2006-07 campaign, a mark that certainly appears to be in jeopardy.
"I don't know what's going on. That stat, it's great when you're up, and when you're down it [stinks], so it's nice when you're up though for sure," Suter said.

Loose Pucks

• The victory extended Minnesota's winning streak to seven games.
• Chris Stewart scored a third-period goal to give Minnesota a 3-0 lead. Stewart has been heating up lately, scoring three of his five goals this season over the past eight games.
• Jared Spurgeon had another nice game, assisting on Stewart's goal. Spurgeon now has six assists in his past nine games overall and 10 on the season.
• Eric Staal and Zach Parise each earned helpers on Suter's goal. Staal, who also added an empty-net goal with 36.7 seconds remaining, has at least a point in four straight games (and six of the past seven) and leads the team in that category with 24.
• Attendance: 19,036

He Said It

"I was kind of used to that fourth-line role. I wasn't used to it at first. It's a tough job. You have to stay in it mentally and keep the legs moving. And tonight, luckily, I was able to get that momentum. I think Bruce was rolling with three centermen and saying, 'Grao you're up. Grao you're up.' I've never heard him say my name so many times." -- Wild forward Tyler Graovac on the increased minutes he played after Erik Haula went down with a lower-body injury

They Said It

"We started the game well ... It was a tight game and Oliver [Ekman-Larsson] took two penalties, just lost coverage on both of them, and they get a seeing-eye shot that goes through and we're chasing the game the rest of the way." -- Coyotes coach Dave Tippett

Three Stars

* Darcy Kuemper
\\ Tyler Graovac
\\* Ryan Suter