Jarret Stoll's play hitting stride for Wild

It's probably not a coincidence that, as the playoffs have grown closer, Wild center Jarret Stoll has gotten louder.

In the locker room, on the bench, on the ice. Stoll, a seasoned veteran who has been a part of two Stanley Cup winners and played in a third Cup Final, speaks from experience.

And, apparently, does it a lot.

"He's always talking on the bench," Charlie Coyle said. "It makes you feel comfortable.''

Said interim coach John Torchetti: "He calms me down sometimes.''

And here's the best thing about it: As the Wild has regained its footing, winning six consecutive and seven of 10 to work itself back into the Western Conference playoff mix, Stoll has been putting his play where his mouth is.

Stoll was claimed off waivers from the New York Rangers in December, coming to Minnesota to give the Wild a righthanded center who could win faceoffs and help kill penalties.

But as the Wild swooned in the new year, the team's penalty kill did, too. Ultimately Torchetti, brought in to replace Mike Yeo, shook things up. He put Zach Parise, Mikael Granlund and Coyle on the penalty kill and scratched Stoll for the Wild's game with St. Louis on March 6.

The result: Starting with that game against the Blues, the Wild has killed off 27 of 28 penalties.

Jarret Stoll career statistics

In the 15 games before the St. Louis game, the Wild had allowed 16 power-play goals on 46 chances.

Stoll had been on the ice for 10 of those goals. But, since his return after that single-game scratch, the Wild has been nearly perfect on the penalty kill and Stoll has won 63 of 97 faceoffs.

Again, probably not a coincidence.

"There is nothing fancy about my game,'' said Stoll, 33. "I just try to be good on the kills, block shots, win faceoffs, get on the forecheck. Just work out there.''

And talk, from experience. His 93 career playoff games are tops on this Wild team. He's been to the top, twice with the Los Angeles Kings, and he knows what it takes to get there.

"You need to play gritty," he said. "Like in the game last night.''

On Tuesday, Stoll scored a goal, the 144th of his 868-game career. Perhaps more important, he won 12 of 13 faceoffs, many of those in the Wild's defensive end.

"Lately we've played good teams how you need to play 'em in the playoffs," Stoll said. "You need to play gritty. You need to play fast, have that checking mentality. Not be cheating, swinging away. Taking care of areas we need to take care of.''

It was as if Stoll was reading from a list.

"You have to stay disciplined," Stoll continued. "Take three or fewer penalties. You have to win the special teams battles. That's a big part of the playoffs. Big saves, which we've been getting lately. It's not playing the game safe, it's playing it smart.''

"It's huge, his experience," Coyle said. "He's seen what the tendencies are of a winning team. What they have to do to get to that next step, become a championship team. He's seen it. It's nice to have a guy who knows how to handle what teams face in the playoffs.''

And, more than ever, Stoll is leading by example, too.

"He's someone who has huge playoff experience,'' Torchetti said. "He's always saying the right thing at the right time. I've really enjoyed our talks. I think he'll be a vital cog in our lineup moving forward.''