Wild have one of the NHL’s best records as they emerge from mini-break

Marcus Foligno spent a rare two-day break hanging out with his daughters in the Twin Cities after the Wild returned from their latest trip.

“Getting them out the door, walk them to the bus stop,” Foligno said. “Drive them to school. Let Mom catch up on some sleep a little bit.”

The Wild have played the fewest home games in the NHL, but they’re about to get reacquainted with Xcel Energy Center.

After being the away team for 10 of the first 15, the Wild can give fans an in-person update on what they’ve been up on the road when they host Montreal on Thursday night before a Central Division showdown with Dallas on Saturday.

“We want to play good at home,” Joel Eriksson Ek said. “We want to make something out of this and keep this going that way. So, yeah, for sure it’s going to be important to try to keep the momentum going at home, too.”

When they left last week for California, the Wild were tied for fifth in the league.

Now, they’re tied for third after winning at San Jose and Anaheim and picking up a point from a 2-1 overtime loss in Chicago on Sunday. Only Winnipeg and New Jersey have more points than the Wild’s 23 from a 10-2-3 record that includes a 7-1-2 output as the visitor.

“That was a really challenging trip just as far as the time zone change,” coach John Hynes said. “Back-to-back and then the all-day travel Saturday and then a 6 o’clock game. This is a challenging schedule, and I really liked the way that we pushed [against the Blackhawks]. I think we deserved better in the game to be honest.”

Following that two-day hiatus, the Wild reconvened for practice on Wednesday at Tria Rink in St. Paul, but they weren’t at full strength.

Jonas Brodin (maintenance), Zach Bogosian (personal) and Marcus Johansson (sick) didn’t skate. Brodin is questionable to play vs. the Canadiens, while Hynes expects Bogosian and Johansson to suit up; in the meantime, the Wild did add defenseman Daemon Hunt and forward Michael Milne from the minors.

Filip Gustavsson is scheduled to start in net for what will be his third straight appearance after Marc-Andre Fleury handled the victory over the Sharks last Thursday.

“I hope we don’t change much,” said Gustavsson, who is 7-2-2 with a .919 save percentage and 2.27 goals-against average. “I would say Anaheim, parts of the game, [and] Chicago wasn’t our best. But other than that, we always outwork them and created more chances than they have. If we do that, we’re going to win more games.”

While there are perks to skating on home ice, like getting the last line change and having crowd support, it might benefit the Wild to play like they’re still on the road.

Maybe they adapted through so many reps, or perhaps touring so many different arenas simply accentuated their strengths, but the no-nonsense style associated with road hockey works for the Wild: They’ve had most of their success when they dominate the first period, are opportunistic on offense and eliminate the pressure on their defense and goaltending by cutting back on penalties and in-zone mistakes.

“When we break the puck out fast and then we’re making tape-to-tape passes and smart plays, it’s like, ‘OK, we got our game,’ ” Foligno said, “and confidence goes right through the roof. What I want to see at home is when things do go south and we are on our heels a little bit that we can correct it quickly.

“When we’re a good team, we don’t make the momentum swings last long for the opposition.”

At 3-1-1, the Wild haven’t struggled in St. Paul.

Their lone eyesore of the season, a 5-1 collapse to Los Angeles, was their last home game on Nov. 5, but they’ll have an opportunity to bounce back during this brief homestand.

This time next week, they’ll be in the midst of another three-game trek across multiple time zones.

“As long as you’re winning on the road,” Foligno said, “it’s good, I guess.”