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NHL Overtime explains Wild’s winning ways

Mikko Koivu, Dany Heatley

Minnesota Wild center Mikko Koivu, left, of Finland, congratulates teammate Dany Heatley, right, after Heatley scored a goal against the Phoenix Coyotes in the third period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011, in Glendale, Ariz. The Wild won 4-1. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

AP

Perhaps it’s just me, but doesn’t it seem like this season’s “new car smell” is just about gone? We’re reaching the “daily grind” part of the campaign where the playoffs is too far away to really consider yet opening night is also fading in our rear-view mirrors. Perhaps that’s why surprise teams like Toronto are slipping noticeably while the Canucks of the world are moving on up.

Yet one shocking success story keeps chugging along, as the Minnesota Wild stand alone atop the NHL. It’s reasonable for normally reasonable people to ask: how and why? Jeremy Roenick and Kevin Weekes shared their reactions and Mike Yeo would be glad to know that the word “passive” wasn’t being thrown around ...