In the midst of the Wild’s five-game losing streak to end October, the statistic that stood out most negatively was their penalty kill. They ended the season’s first month with a 3-6-3 record and were in a battle with the Ottawa Senators for the NHL’s worst numbers with a man in the penalty box.

One factor in Minnesota’s slump-busting win versus Vancouver to start November was a 3-for-3 night when the Canucks were on the power play. Yes, it was just one game, but in that success, the Wild’s head coach saw some of the vital little things that can make the razor-thin difference between winning and losing.

“One, we won some faceoffs. So we got the puck out of our end,” John Hynes said in praise of his penalty killers. “We were good on the forecheck, of not allowing easy sets, which allowed

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