Finally, the floodgates opened.
Disregarding the empty-net goal the Wild scored Wednesday against Winnipeg, the Wild hadn't scored more than two goals with an actual goaltender in net since the last time the team faced the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 10.
On Friday, during a matinee rematch with the defending Stanley Cup champs, the Wild, which had scored 12 goals in the previous seven games, followed its Thanksgiving feast by feasting on the Penguins 6-2.
The Wild got so giddy, Zach Parise and Eric Staal spent virtually the entire third period trying to deliver Charlie Coyle his first career hat trick. At two junctures, Staal tried passing through a defender's skates on a 2-on-1 and later basically gave up a breakaway to get the puck to Coyle.
"I think we tried to force-feed him at the end. It's tough to get a hat trick," Parise, who has the Wild's past three hat tricks, said, before cracking a smile. "He didn't want it tonight, though."
Coyle, who scored in the first and final minutes of the opening period, had to settle for his fifth career two-goal game. Nino Niederreiter also scored twice and defenseman Jonas Brodin registered his first career three-assist and three-point game as the Wild scored six goals for the first time since Oct. 18.
"It's fun to play like that," Coyle said.
Parise and Mikael Granlund each scored a goal and had an assist, Mikko Koivu had two assists and Devan Dubnyk made 34 saves as the Wild won consecutive games for the first time since Oct. 27 and 29.