Playing without their top two defensemen, the Wild had the odds stacked against them against the Calgary Flames on Thursday.

But this has been a different team since a coaching change on Nov. 28, and Minnesota found another way to win a game they likely would have lost earlier this season, beating the Flames 3-2 in a shootout at Xcel Energy Center.

Matt Boldy scored in regulation and the shootout, and Filip Gustavsson stopped 37 shots as the Wild survived the loss of Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon and improved to 6-2-0 under Hynes.

“It feels like the whole team has stepped up,” Gustavsson said. “We had some of these types of games earlier in the year and we couldn’t figure out how to win them. And now we don’t have as many momentum swings, or having the other team impact us mentally as much.

“We just keep doing our thing because we know our thing is going to work in the end.”

Hynes had one particular game on his mind, and it wasn’t long ago — a 4-3 loss last Friday in Edmonton. That game was tied 3-3 in the third period, and the high-scoring Oilers won it on a power play.

“We didn’t find a way to win in Edmonton,” the coach said. “Tonight we did a better job of sticking with it and finding a way to win the game.”

The Flames took a lead on Blake Coleman’s short-handed goal 4 minutes, 13 seconds into the third period, but Marco Rossi tied the game 45 seconds later. After a scoreless three-on-three session, Mats Zuccarello and Boldy scored in the shootout. Gustavsson stopped three of the four shots he faced, gloving Nazem Kadri’s to seal it.

Yegor Sherangovich in regulation and the shootout, and Dan Vladar — who was pulled in the Wild’s 5-2 win Dec. 5 at the Saddledome — stopped 31 shots for Calgary.

“Shootout could have gone either way, and Vladdy made some big saves,” Coleman said. “We’ve just got to find ways to win these types of games.”

As they’ve done in all their victories under Hynes, the Wild scored first when Boldy scored an unassisted goal in the first period.

“I don’t even really remember how the play started,” he said. “I just remember a great play by (Joel Eriksson Ek) in a good spot jumping down, kind of hitting him, I think and it landed on my stick — so just kind of tried to get on that quick.”

After Calgary took possession of the puck in their own end, Eriksson Ek forced a quick outlet pass that Boldy dislodged from Jonathan Huberdeau on the half boards. He took possession, skated it through the circle and sent a wrist shot high to the near corner to beat Vladar for a 1-0 lead at 4:42.

Neither team was called for a penalty until Rossi was whistled for tripping in the neutral zone at 7:57 of the second period. Calgary came close to tying the score on the ensuing power play, trying to pound home a loose puck at the crease with Gustavsson on his back.

Nick Bogosian went to one knee in the right corner to stop some shots before Gustavsson finally gloved the puck. After the play was whistled dead, the referees took a long look at the video to see if the Flames had scored, but ruled no goal with 7 seconds left in the power play.

“It hit my arm, and then I just tried to keep my arm tight there in coverage,” Gustavsson said. “But you can’t see, you never know. That’s what you have to do sometimes.”

But Calgary tied it with a power play goal by Sharangovich, with 7 seconds left in the man advantage, to go into the third period with the game knotted at 1-1. After Coleman’s shortie, Rossi pounced on a long, juicy rebound and wristed it past Vladar at 4:58.

The Wild have won two straight after finishing a 2-2 road trip with a 3-0 win last Sunday at Seattle. They’re host to Vancouver, which beat them 2-0 on Dec. 7, on Saturday at 1 p.m.

With Brodin (upper body) on long-term injured reserve, and Spurgeon (lower body) scratched, rookie Brock Faber played a career high 30 minutes, 8 seconds. He put five shots on net, and finished a long overtime shift by giving his linemates a chance to change at a crucial time.

“As soon as you doubt yourself, you’re going to lose,” Gustavsson said. “And we don’t doubt ourselves anymore.”