Sparked by Nick Bonino, Wild's fourth line doing a first-rate job

Three Stanley Cup Final appearances, nearly 1,750 games and more than 500 goals.

And that's just two-thirds of the Wild's fourth line.

The rookies and 20-somethings have set the tone for the Wild's climb this season into a playoff position with 15 games to go, but the veterans have also been in the driver's seat, especially recently.

Nick Bonino and Zach Parise had their fingerprints all over the team's 5-2 victory over Arizona on Wednesday, an experienced duo on the fourth line that is providing the Wild with a trait the most competitive clubs have and that's depth.

"We need everyone," Mats Zuccarello said. "We need younger guys to chip in. We need older guys to chip in. So, I think that defines a strong team. That's when I think we're at our best."

In the team's first chance to respond from a pair of setbacks last weekend at St. Louis, including the most lopsided loss in franchise history, the Wild's experienced players led the way.

Zuccarello scored twice on the power play, finishing setups by fellow veteran Marcus Johansson; captain Jared Spurgeon had a goal and goaltender Cam Talbot was solid in making 28 saves.

But it was the effort by the fourth line that stood out.

Bonino, 32, delivered the eventual game-winning goal on the power play after assisting on Parise's goal earlier in the second period, and both had a hand in Spurgeon's third-period tally.

In all, their line with rookie Nico Sturm racked up six points; Bonino had three, the first time he's had three-plus points in a game since Oct. 29, 2019, and Parise finished with two. Parise has two goals in his last three games after going 14 without scoring, and this rebound is coming in a new role for the 36-year-old.

Aside from playing lower in the lineup, Parise hasn't been featured on the power play lately — a departure from the responsibility he's had for much of his Wild tenure since signing with the team in 2012 after making it to the Stanley Cup Final with New Jersey before falling in six games to Los Angeles.

"It's definitely a little adjustment," said Bonino, who's been in the NHL for almost 700 games and came to the Wild from Nashville in a draft-day trade for Luke Kunin. "For me, I've been up and down lineups for my whole career. I think that's a strength of a lot of guys on this team. They can play top-line minutes and come in and give 10 to 12 good minutes. Nobody has complained about it, and that's why we are where we are in the standings. It's definitely a thing that is an adjustment, but it helps the team."

If it continues to produce, this line could give the Wild the balance teams in the playoffs thrive on in best-of-seven series.

And Bonino's versatility is an intriguing ingredient. While he is currently lining up at right wing, he is also a center, so he is another faceoff option. He kills penalties and seems to have found a home on the power play in front of the net.

"You want to start with the puck, and he gives us that opportunity and gets to the net and hangs around there and has some really good hands in order to make some plays," coach Dean Evason said.

He's also a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning twice with Pittsburgh, and what Bonino learned from those triumphs doesn't have to stay in the past. Those lessons can help the Wild in the present.

"We have seen it where our lines get jumbled a little bit, but guys respond really well," Marcus Foligno said. "That's what you need. That's what you need going into playoff hockey. You've got guys like Bonino and [Ian Cole] who have the experience of winning, and it helps settle those kinds of nerves.

"Everyone knows their job, and first to fourth we can roll it."