For the Wild, ‘very imperfect’ victories form a satisfying trend

Wins from the driver’s seat are out.

White-knuckle rallies are in.

Such is the transformation the Wild have made over the past week, a shift in style that has kept them in cruise control during their 7-1-2 start but a swerve that’s also showing just how much they’re leaving last season in the rearview mirror.

“It’s definitely a different feel,” second-year defenseman Brock Faber said. “We’re playing with a lot more confidence every night, expecting to win every night.

“We’re on the right path.”

A sluggish first period, poor special-teams performance and late gut-check are reasons the Wild used to lose games.

Now, those dead ends are detours en route to victories, the Wild taking the roundabout way to a 5-3 dismissal of Tampa Bay on Friday night at Xcel Energy Center just like they did on Tuesday for the same finish at Pittsburgh.

“We know how we need to play,” coach John Hynes said. “I think there’s a confidence level in that. There’s a commitment level to that.”

The Wild were sluggish in the first period, falling behind on a power-play goal in the final minute.

In their return from a long road trip, an early lull could have set the tone for the rest of the game. But they reset, a first-minute goal from Joel Eriksson Ek in the second period lifting the Wild back to equilibrium.

“We play not our hockey in first period,” leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov said. “Maybe it was because it was a long trip. But I feel like second and third period we played better.”

Still, the Wild didn’t get any help from their power play or penalty kill.

The power play had two chances to make a difference and whiffed on both opportunities.

Twice Kaprizov sent the puck sailing over the net in tight.

“Bad hands,” he quipped.

But the penalty kill didn’t fare any better.

This was the first time all season the Wild surrendered more than one power-play goal. After the Lightning scored their first with the man advantage, their power play converted again in the third period just 3 minutes, 42 seconds after Faber capitalized to give the Wild their first lead at 2-1.

A momentum change like that after it took the Wild so long to finally eke out an edge could have sunk them.

Just last season, it did, with the team’s issues under pressure reflected in its 39-34-9 record that cost them a playoff spot. But in a sign of growth, the Wild kept their composure and the next game-defining plays belonged to them.

After Kaprizov’s tiebreaker, a puck that deflected in off his stick to make him the first NHLer this season to reach 20 points, Matt Boldy buried a shot into an empty net, which turned into the game-winner after Tampa Bay’s Nick Paul answered back soon after.

Kaprizov, continuing a U-turn for his hands, then slammed the breaks on the Lightning’s comeback by sinking an 84-foot empty-netter for his NHL-leading 21st point in only his 10th game.

“It’s resiliency,” defenseman Jake Middleton said. “We’ve been doing that since the start of training camp. We’re one of the hardest-working teams and one of the smartest-working teams, and when you have work ethic behind it and confidence, it doesn’t matter what the score is.”

This result swept the season series against Tampa Bay, but the Wild’s previous 4-2 win vs. the Lightning on Oct. 24 was a different make and model.

Back then, the Wild were scoring first and never trailing in regulation, the more methodical route to success.

But they haven’t gotten lost by going in a new direction.

In fact, they have reached the same destination all while picking up more experience along the way — lessons that could come in handy during a future journey.

“You’re not gonna lead every game the whole game, right?” Faber said. “There’s gonna be adversity. There’s gonna be, just like last [year], injuries and things like that and off nights. Being able to find a way to win like that, a more gritty win, a very imperfect win, we’re definitely really happy with that.”