One could have been a fluke, two a coincidence and three a trend.
Kings of the comeback: Wild has trailed in all but one victory this season
Seven of their eight victories through 11 games have been earned after trailing in the game.
November 8, 2021 at 8:53PM
But seven comeback victories by the Wild — in only 11 games — is a statement.
This is looking more and more like the team's identity.
"We're winning games," rookie Brandon Duhaime said. "So, we just gotta keep doing what we're doing."
No one in the NHL has more come-from-behind wins than the Wild, which will take a three-game win streak into a three-game road trip that starts Wednesday at Arizona.
Time will tell if this knack continues, but one catalyst for the resilience that makes rallying seem like a sustainable strategy is the team's depth scoring.
"Everybody feels part of it," coach Dean Evason said. "We talked a lot about trusting our teammates. The nice thing is one guy steps up, or a line steps up one night, your so-called top line doesn't get upset like, 'Why didn't I get the points?'
"Who cares about points? We get two points, and that's what our group cares about. They're not worried about their individual stats. They're just as happy as the other group, the other line, the other D pair, whatever it may be on that given night. It's nice to get a good team feel."
Six different players have delivered the seven game-winning plays that sealed a Wild comeback.
Leading goal scorer Ryan Hartman is the only repeat contributor, scoring the decisive goal in the 3-2 win at Los Angeles on Oct. 16 and during overtime to upend Anaheim 4-3 on Oct. 23.
Joel Eriksson Ek (6-5 vs. Winnipeg on Oct. 19) and Kirill Kaprizov (5-4 vs. Ottawa on Nov. 2) also capitalized in overtime, and Marcus Foligno had the latest regulation-time game-winner when he polished off the inaugural rally (2-1 at Anaheim on Oct. 15) with 7.2 seconds left.
Nick Bjugstad and Duhaime are the most recent to join the club: Bjugstad finalized a 5-4 stunner at Pittsburgh last Saturday in the fourth round of a shootout, and Duhaime picked up the baton in a 5-2 dismissal of the Islanders on Sunday at Xcel Energy Center.
As for the game-tying goals that preceded these clutch finishes, Kevin Fiala, Frederick Gaudreau and Jon Merrill have been responsible for those, along with Hartman, Foligno and Eriksson Ek.
Hartman actually has two equalizers, with both coming over the weekend. After tying the game at 4 with 3 seconds left in the third period on Saturday, he knotted the score at 2 the next night against the Islanders with his team-leading sixth goal.
"Guys aren't overextending shifts," Hartman said. "We can trust each other to go out there and keep our shifts short and come the end of the game, maybe they have guys out there that have played a lot of minutes and are tired and we have guys who are fresh and can maybe take advantage."
In all, every skater in the lineup on Sunday has registered at least a point this season and only three had yet to score.
Balance like that is a hallmark of the most challenging teams.
That the Wild is showcasing its well-rounded offense in make-or-break situations is even more impressive.
"You never know if the production is going to come," Evason said. "But if Kirill and Kevin, they're not lighting it up, it's nice to get team wins and it might help us in the long run with our knowledge that everybody can chip in."
After letting a 135-footer bounce in between the wickets early, Fleury steadied himself in a 5-3 victory.
