The last week has seen mixed results.

After an uninspiring 5-0 loss in Nashville Thursday and blowing a two-goal lead before losing 3-2 Friday in Columbus, the Wild could have been dealt a potentially fatal blow by losing Sunday.

Instead, Minnesota knocked off Calgary 4-3.

"You've got to give credit to the guys that are battling through it because we want to make the playoffs," said Cal Clutterbuck, who received intravenous fluids during the game. "We need those guys in the lineup if they can go with any means necessary. It's that time of year."

Greg Zanon and Brent Burns personify the toughness of the team as it stays in the playoff chase.

Burns may have returned a bit earlier than he should have Sunday after missing six games with a hip injury. Zanon, who has been playing with a broken ankle, missed the Columbus game.

"When you’re out there and the adrenaline is going it's not as bad," Zanon said Sunday. "I got hit a couple more times again tonight, but I'm just trying to do what I can to help the team win. If I can be in the lineup and contribute any way I can I'm happy to be here."

Even Chuck Kobasew, who scored twice in the win, is getting back to action after missing 2 ½ months with a sprained ACL and MCL.

"Coming back I thought it was going to be easier than it was" Kobasew said. "This time of year the pace is a little quicker and the last couple of games I've been felling a little bit better."

The way the season began, many fans in the State of Hockey are pleasantly surprised Minnesota is in the playoff talk, even if it is remote.

"When you get off to a 1-5 or 3-9 start things could have went the other way very quickly because as a coach coming in you’re trying to sell ideas and philosophies of how you want to play. If things don’t go well players could be sitting back going, 'What are we doing? Why we doing this? That doesn’t work,' and pretty soon you’re heading down a dangerous path," Richards told KFAN-AM Monday. "They stayed positive and did the things I was asking them to do; the players stuck with it."

Like any coach, creating a foundation to his ideas isn’t enough for Richards to call the 2009-10 season a success.

"Nothing is satisfying because we set out at the start of the season to make the playoffs and right now we're on the outside looking in. Maybe when the season is over with, whenever that is – hopefully sometime in June – I'll be able to sit back and think about that a little bit better."

The off-season drew a bit closer Tuesday, when the San Jose Sharks beat the Wild 4-1 at the Xcel Energy Center. Guillaume Latendresse scored the lone goal and Niklas Backstrom stopped returned after missing seven games with a groin injury to stop 14 shots.

Whether or not they make the playoffs, the Wild is learning is that Casey Wellman may have a strong future in the league.

Wellman joined the club last week after getting 23 goals and 22 assists as a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts this season. (Watch his reaction.)

“We’re attracted to his offensive potential,” said assistant general manager Brent Flahr. “He’s your typical late-blooming kid that went undrafted. He’s not a finished product, we’re aware of that. But with his shot and offensive potential, we were willing to take a shot and get him in here, and hopefully get him going on his pro career.”

In two games for Minnesota, Wellman has two assists. His aggressive forecheck Sunday resulted in a turnover that led to a Kobasew goal.

Because of the condensed schedule, Richards said he has yet to see Wellman practice, but from what he's seen he likes Wellman's quickness and his ability to see things develop. "He plays fearless and he plays like he's got something to prove," Richards said.

A big week for the Flames, who beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 on Tuesday to remain two points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference. ... Calgary heads east for a three-game trek to Long Island, Boston and Washington. … Daymond Langkow, who left Sunday's game on a stretcher, returned to Calgary Monday but is out indefinitely. Langkow was checked while standing in front of the net just as Ian White shot the puck from the blue line. As Langkow fell forward, the puck struck him right below the back of his neck and he landed on the ice on his head [video below]. "You never want to see that. It's scary, especially when it's a teammate and a guy you're close with. When stuff like that happens in hockey, it really makes you think 'I'm out there playing a sport when terrible things like that happen.' It's freaky and really scary. I'm just glad to hear he's doing well and that's the main thing," said Cory Sarich. …  Steve Staios scored a power-play goal Sunday. It was his first goal in 86 games. … G Vesa Toskala was solid in his first two starts with Calgary, but he stopped just nine of 12 shots on Sunday and was pulled in a crucial 4-3 loss at Minnesota. "The backup goaltender's gotta start at some point in time. It's an awful lot to demand on one goaltender to handle that. Vesa's capable of doing it. Was he as sharp as he would have liked to be tonight? No, he wasn't. That said, we're going to need him down the stretch here, and he's gonna get more opportunities to start," head coach Brent Sutter said. … White tied a career high with his 10th goal of the season Sunday. … D Mark Giordano was a plus-four on Friday's 4-3 win over San Jose. He's been the best offensive defenseman for the Flames with 11 goals, 29 points, 73 penalty minutes and a plus-14 rating. … D Jay Bouwmeester has two goals this year, none since Nov. 14. He is being paid $7 million this season.

The Avalanche fell to 5-5-1 in March after Monday's 4-3 overtime loss in Los Angeles, the team's third straight setback. The teams meet again Wednesday in Denver. … Colorado is seventh in the Western Conference, two points ahead of eighth-place Detroit and six up on ninth-place Calgary. … Chris Stewart has an eight-game point streak. He has seven goals and six assists during that span. Stewart has 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in his last 11 games and 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in his last 15 contests … Paul Stastny failed to get a point Sunday for the first time in 10 games since returning from the Olympics, but had two assists Monday. He has five goals and 13 assists since returning from Vancouver. Stastny has 72 points in 72 games this season, and has already set a career high with 55 assists. … G Craig Anderson is two games shy of matching Patrick Roy's team record of 65 appearances in 1997-98. … Milan Hejduk scored his 20th goal of the year on St. Patrick's Day to reach the 20-goal mark for the 10th consecutive season. That ties Michel Goulet and Peter Stastny for the second-longest streak of 20-plus goals in franchise history. Joe Sakic holds the record of 11 straight seasons. … D Ryan Wilson suffered a mild concussion in a St. Patrick's Day fight with Calgary's Jamal Mayers. The defenseman was able to complete an off-ice workout Friday, but has not returned to the lineup. … D Brett Clark leads the Avalanche with 154 blocked shots. …  Peter Mueller, who was acquired from Phoenix at the trade deadline, and Theo Fleury are the only Avs newcomers to get points their first seven games after a trade. However, Mueller ended a two-game scoring drought with a goal and an assist Monday. … Colorado gave up three power-play goals to Anaheim Sunday, after yielding only three PPG in their previous seven games combined. … Colorado has overcome a two-goal deficit to win a game on seven occasions this season. The Avs have also rallied from two goals down to gain a point twice. … Altitude TV goes one-on-one with C Matt Duchene. … Anaheim's Teemu Selanne, who scored his 600th career goal Sunday against the Avalanche, scored 16 goals during his one season in Colorado (2003-04). … The Avs signed forward Mike Carman to an entry-level contract. Carman, who recently concluded his career at the University of Minnesota, was 29-37-66 in 135 career games as a Golden Gopher. He was assigned to AHL Lake Erie.

EDMONTON

Sam Gagner is taking a futuristic look at being a spoiler. "This is as close to playoff hockey as we're going to get this year, playing teams that are battling for playoff spots," he said Sunday. "We want to treat these situations like playoff games for us, and in the future maybe pull from these experiences." … Following a win Sunday (5-1 over San Jose) and another Tuesday (3-2 over Vancouver), Edmonton's magic number to finish last in the NHL — a combination of their own losses and Toronto wins — is five. … Congrats to Devan Dubnyk. After starting his career 0-8-2, the netminder won two straight against Detroit and San Jose. The Edmonton Journal reported that Wilf Cude went 16 games with the Philadelphia Quakers in 1930-31 before recording his first NHL win. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Quakers, who played only one NHL season, won just four of 44 games, scoring 76 goals while allowing 184. … … Edmonton is scoring 2.46 goals a game and giving up a league-worst 3.38. Only Boston has a lower scoring average, at 2.35 goals per game. … C Andrew Cogliano has eight points in his last eight games after garnering just 14 in his first 64. …  Curtis Stock of The Edmonton Journal has a fun story about the superstitious championship Oiler teams of the 1980s. … The Oilers continue to go with only six defensemen. Alex Plante, who had a four-game audition several weeks back, collided with Springfield teammate Kip Brennan in a recent pre-game warm-up drill and is out with a concussion. "First time I've ever seen that happen," said head coach Rob Daum. … Patrick O'Sullivan is close to returning. He's been out since a March 9 slash to his left hand. The blow destroyed the nail on his ring finger and doctors surgically replaced the nail with a metal plate. (See the finger in this interview.) … D Theo Peckham is done for the year after separating his left shoulder Sunday when he was tripped up and went crashing into the end boards. The Oilers recalled D Dean Arsene on an emergency basis from AHL Springfield Monday. … D Ladislav Smid had successful surgery last week to repair a bulging disc in his neck.

Is there an HPT curse? On the same day Mikael Samuelsson is featured in the Northwest Division notebook, he left a game against the New York Islanders with an upper-body injury and will be out 2-3 weeks. Michael Grabner has been recalled from the AHL's Manitoba Moose to help out with the loss of Samuelsson. … Daniel Sedin scored his 20th goal of the year Saturday to give the Canucks six 20-goal scorers, the most since 1992-93. … The Canucks signed Ryan Kesler Friday to a six-year contract extension, reportedly for $5 million per season, through the 2015-2016 season. “Today is an exciting day for the Canucks organization,” said general manager Mike Gillis. “Ryan Kesler has excelled as a two-way player and in his role as an alternate captain. Ryan has showcased his ability to perform under extreme pressure and we are looking forward to continuing to see Ryan develop into one of the League’s premier players.” Kesler, who is in his sixth season with the Canucks, has 21 goals this season along with career highs in assists (46), points (67), power play goals (12) and game-winning goals (4). … The team also signed Jordan Schroeder, their 2009 first-round draft selection (22nd overall). Schroeder, 20, spent the 2009-10 season with University of Minnesota, going 9-19-28 in 37 games played. In his freshman season, Schroeder went 13-32-45 in 35 games. He had two goals Sunday in his first game for Manitoba. … The Canucks signed forward Aaron Volpatti to a multi-year deal Monday. He went 17-15-32 in 37 games at Brown University this season. He set the school record for most penalty minutes in a season with 115. … Kyle Wellwood had a goal and an assist in Vancouver's 4-3 overtime loss to Detroit on Saturday. Roberto Luongo stopped 50 shots in the game. … Detroit scored twice in 5 seconds against Vancouver Saturday, for a new franchise record eclipsing a pair of quick scores seven seconds apart in 1976, 1990 and 1995. … C Ryan Johnson scored his first goal of the season Thursday. It was also his first point in 32 games. … Shane O'Brien was back in the Vancouver lineup on Thursday after missing three games as a healthy scratch. He had a goal and assist two days later against Detroit. … After Wednesday's home game with Anaheim, the Canucks play once in six days, on Saturday in San Jose.

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