Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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A year ago, the Minnesota Wild fired head coach Mike Yeo, as the National Hockey League team struggled through a midseason slump, having lost eight games in a row. 

This season, things are much different. The Wild lead the Western Conference, with the second-most points in the NHL.

"It's electric," said Wild fan Jordan Loken, 19, whose family has had season tickets since the team's first season in 2000. "Just this year it feels like a playoff atmosphere every game than it did previous years."

The Minnesota Wild had a rare loss Tuesday night, falling to the Anaheim Ducks 1-0. 

The NHL team seems to be thriving with strong goaltending, scoring from their entire bench and a coach who is getting the most out of his players.

Wild play-by-play announcer Bob Kurtz said the addition of veteran Center Eric Staal and bringing back wing Chris Stewart have helped. Plus, goalie Devan Dubnyk leads the league in wins, save percentage and goals against average. 

However, Kurtz and many others credit new head coach Bruce Boudreau.

After his hiring last summer, Boudreau took stock of a Wild team that had playoff success in the past, but also had young talent that didn't seem to be playing up to its potential.

"It's always a learning curve when you come to a new team. I mean, you don't know the guys," he said. "You know what they can do, but it's getting to know them, what makes them tick and how push the right buttons to make them work is what's important."

It took Boudreau until about Christmas to get a good feel for the team, he said.

"We see the players as much as we see our family during the season," Bodreau said. "It's not hard to get to know them."

The Wild's leading goal scorer, Swiss winger Nino Niederreiter, points to Boudreau's ability to get the most out of players as he did in Washington, D.C., and Anaheim, Calif.

"Obviously it helps to have a different voice behind the bench and have a different strategy with the mindset of winning games," Niederreiter said. "I think that's definitely something which helped us along the way."

Boudreau seems to have found success in finding what works for each individual player, whether he's switching which line they play with, having them play a different position or having a sit-down conversation with them. 

Last week, Boudreau moved Charlie Coyle, who usually plays wing, to center. Over two and a half games at center, Coyle had five assists and scored his first goal in 16 games. 

Coyle said Boudreau has a sense about what players need.

"He knows how to handle a lot of different situations, even before things arise he's already addressing it," Coyle said. "You know he's just seen it, he's been there before. It definitely helps out a lot and he's a great coach."

In the stands, longtime season ticket holders are finding a lot more to cheer about, too.

Wild fan Shawn Betts has seen a change on the ice and in the stands from his third-row seats.

"If they fall behind, there's more confidence they're gonna come back," Betts said. "At the end of a game, where it seemed like we used to blow a lot of leads or give up a lot of leads ... now you don't see that happening and you see the team holding on and winning."

New coach jumpstarts Wild to a hot season

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