Your Wild gave me a heart attack last night, you betcha

Uff da, I don’t know about you, but I needed a whole pot of Caribou Coffee this morning after that one. The Minnesota Wild pulled out a 4-3 overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks in their barn last night, and honestly, it felt a little too close for comfort after how we started. Ryan Hartman and Marcus Johansson got us on the board quick in the first, and then Mats Zuccarello — oh, that tricky little fella — finished it off in overtime. It was a good two points, especially on the road, but my goodness, did they make us sweat through the third period. Felt like I was back at the State Tournament watching some small-town team lose a lead in the last five minutes, you know?

That first period was somethin' else, with Kirill Kaprizov and Brock Faber lookin' sharp on the assists. Faber, especially, is just a dandy out there, makin' plays like he's been in the league for a decade. But then we let them Blackhawks back in it, even with a power play goal from Vladimir Tarasenko in the first. Letting Frank Nazar tie it up in the third with less than two minutes to go? That’s the kinda thing that makes you wanna throw your hotdish right at the television. Zuccarello’s overtime winner, assisted by Johansson and Faber again, was a beautiful relief though, and it was nice to stick it to Chicago, even if they're not the playoff nemesis they used to be. Fuck Norm Green.

So, what does this mean for our Minnesota Wild? Well, we’re now sitting at 39-18-12, good for 90 points and still third in the Central. That win streak is a W, baby! These two points are huge as we push for the playoffs, especially with our last 10 games being a bit of a rollercoaster. We need to keep this momentum going if we want to secure a good spot, because Lord knows we don't need another first-round exit. The mood in Saint Paul, MN this morning is a mix of relief and a little bit of "can we please make it easier on ourselves?" You betcha, folks are heading to Mickey's Diner for breakfast, already dissecting every play.

You betcha — Let's Play Hockey. This is Ingie Olsen-Carlson.

Oh, and if you wanna hear more about that nail-biter, the morning crew has the full breakdown live at mornings.live.