Winning the games you shouldn't

It's no secret that the Wild have struggled, and probably will continue to struggle, this season. That's what makes the past two wins by the team even more puzzling. Not that I'm complaining.

They lost a 4-3 game to the also-struggling Nashville Predators at the X before Marian Gaborik and his New York Rangers came to town. But true to Gabby's form, he injured his knee earlier in the week and didn't play against his former team, turning his reunion into a melodramatic affair.

New York had a good start to the season, but has cooled off as of late. Case in point: Friday's game against the Wild. The hometown boys beat the East Coast fellas 3-2. Maybe Gabby would have been the extra edge the Rangers needed to come away with a win. Although, the game was at the Xcel Center, where the Wild have been successful this season.

Odds against you
The very next night, the Wild headed out to Pittsburgh for their last appearence in the Igloo to face the defending Stanley Cup champions. A very unlikely place for the Wild's first road victory of the season, right? Well, that would have been the way to bet, but things turned out a little differently.

The Penguins were down a couple of key players, which gave the Wild a little bit of luck. And Marek Zidlicky got under Sidney Crosby's skin and goated him into a fight. "Sid the Kid" lost his cool a bit and spent a good chunk of time in the penalty box. Keeping the dominant scorer off the ice certainly helped the Wild.

All the scoring happened in the first period, with Eric Belanger firing in the eventual game-winner with just 0.6 seconds remaining in the period. Talk about a momentum feeder.

All that matters is the 'W'
The final score ended up being 2-1 in favor of the Wild. (Former Wild player Pascal Dupuis had the lone tally for the Pens.) But boy, they were lucky. Very lucky. Getting brutally outshot 35-15 is not a good way to try and win a hockey game. Not to mention that the Wild played the majority of the third period in their own zone, basically using the trying-not-to-lose game plan.

Niklas Backstrom started in goal for the second night in a row and was phenomenal. He had to be to stop the constant rushes and flurries in front of the net from the Pens. I am still surprised they didn't punch in a tying goal and send the game into overtime, or finish it off in regulation.

So the game in the Igloo will be marked as the Wild's first road win of the season. Maybe it was just a sign that bounces will start going Minnesota's way. Or maybe it was about time to end the losing streak.

Whatever the case, this was one of those games where you are lucky to come away with two points.