CALGARY, Alberta — The Wild have looked like a new team since John Hynes took over as head coach last Tuesday.

Tight and listless during a seven-game losing streak that cost Dean Evason his job, the team is loose, skating and scoring in three straight wins under Hynes, outscoring opponents by a combined 13-3 in the Wild’s first three-game winning streak of the season.

Minnesota brings that streak, and the confidence that comes with it, into a big, four-game road trip that begins Tuesday night in Calgary with an 8 p.m. CST puck drop at the Saddledome.

“It’s been a good week,” Hynes said after Minnesota’s 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday at Xcel Energy Center.

Reporters have been trying to pry the secret sauce out of Hynes and players since the Wild beat St. Louis, 3-1, in his Minnesota debut, and certainly an emphasis on closing gaps defensively in the neutral zone has worked to reduce the team’s time in its own zone and kickstart rushes the other way.

Hynes also has emphasized getting a defenseman into every rush, tweaked power-play personnel and revamped a penalty kill — with new assistant coach Patrick Dwyer — that was the NHL’s worst into a unit that has been perfect in its past three games.

But what’s the common denominator in the immediate success? If you’ve been watching all season, it’s right in front of your face, and it’s not all X’s and O’s.

After Sunday’s game, veteran wing Marcus Foligno went through a list of changes Hynes has instituted before finally summing it up thusly: “Guys away from the puck working twice as hard.”

“Guys away from the puck, I think, has been the biggest thing,” he said. “You want to give the puck to the guy with the most confidence, so you have to demand it from them. If a guy’s yelling at you, or you know where he is, that’s what’s different now.”

While Hynes has impressed players with his style and demeanor, there is no doubt the players, for whatever reason, are giving him more than they were giving Evason, best exemplified by the somnambulant, 4-1 loss at Detroit on Nov. 26 that preceded the coaching change.

“It was a big wake-up call for us,” rookie defenseman Brock Faber said. “We’ve had plenty of wake-up calls this year, but that was real for us. You hate to see a coach get fired … and that’s because of us and the way we were playing.”

But players have taken immediately to Hynes, and adapted to what he calls “tweaks” to the team’s systems.

“Hynes has come in and he’s been phenomenal to us,” Faber said. “He’s done his best just to get to know each guy. He shows that he really does care about winning, cares about this team, cares about every individual.”

Faber power

Faber earned his first power-play point with an assist on Marco Rossi’s second goal on Sunday while playing point on the second unit.

Part of that was because Jared Spurgeon was being treated for a knee injury, but Hynes clearly likes what Faber can bring to the unit. The coach said Faber and Alex Goligoski took turns on the second unit during practice Monday at TRIA Rink.

“We see Faber has the potential to turn into a pretty strong power-play guy,” Hynes told reporters in St. Paul. “He obviously did a nice job (Sunday) at it, so we’ll continue to give him opportunities, for sure.”

Briefly

Veteran blue liner Zach Bogosian missed practice on Monday with an undisclosed injury after sitting out Sunday’s game. Jon Merrill played against the Blackhawks, and the Wild recalled defenseman Dakota Mermis on Monday. Bogosian traveled with the team and Hynes said he could play on this trip. … Hynes said Filip Gustavsson will start in goal on Tuesday.

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