It’s a little hard to believe Brandon Duhaime doesn’t know better than to start a prank war with Marc-Andre Fleury. On the other hand, maybe Duhaime didn’t know he was.

During the Wild’s 4-3 overtime victory at Boston on Dec. 19, Duhaime was interviewed by Bally Sports North between the second and third periods, and when asked about the great game Fleury was having in net, said, “For him to do this at 50, it’s special.”

That’s not a prank, it’s a joke — and a pretty funny one. But while Fleury, 39, admitted to laughing when Marcus Foligno showed him the clip on the team bus, the gauntlet had been thrown.

“Dewey started it,” Fleury said Thursday. “We’ve got proof it was him.”

Since then, Duhaime has left Xcel Energy Center without a shirt and, after Wednesday’s 6-3 victory over Detroit, wearing white, furry boots instead of his missing shoes.

The stakes were raised again during Thursday’s practice at TRIA Rink, where Fleury received a cane as a Secret Santa gift, then was presented with it during a team drill — in front of about 2,000 fans in attendance.

“So, that’s not going to end, I guess,” head coach John Hynes said.

The hijinx are a strong sign that the vibes around the team have changed dramatically. It’s hard to prank your teammates when the team is losing 11 of 13 games, as the Wild did this fall.

Heading into a two-game, home-and-home series with Winnipeg, the Wild have won four in a row, seven straight at home, and are 11-3-0 since Hynes replaced Dean Evason as coach on Nov. 27.

“It’s nice,” Fleury said. “It’s nice just to enjoy it, enjoy coming to the rink, see more smiles from the guys, the coaches — the fans out there. There were a lot of people (here today). Everything about it is more fun, for sure. We need to keep going.”

Hartman on a roll

With Mats Zuccarello out with an upper-body injury, Ryan Hartman has found a home on the team’s second line with Marco Rossi and Marcus Johansson, which combined for three goals and five points in Wednesday’s victory over the Red Wings.

Hartman returned from a two-game injury absence Wednesday night and scored his third goal in his past three games on that line, after playing previous games on the fourth line with Duhaime and Connor Dewar.

It will be interesting to see what Hynes does when Zuccarello returns from an upper-body injury.

“I think we’ve been playing really well together, but we’re going to need everyone to play with each other,” Hartman said. “Guys get injured all the time; you’re never going to have a whole season where you’re healthy. Even if I were to get moved, I’m sure at some point there would be a chance to get back.

“And maybe I do stay; I don’t know. I’m not really thinking about that too much. I’m going to try to bring the same thing, regardless of where I am in the lineup, and I think everyone on our team has the same mindset.”

Spurgeon close

Jared Spurgeon appears ready to play this weekend, but Hynes said he won’t know for sure until after a Friday morning practice at Xcel Energy Center. The veteran defenseman was a full participant in an intense, hour-long practice on Thursday.

“He’s done his diligence as the player to be able to do what he needs to do treatment-wise and recovery-wise in getting himself ready,” Hynes said. “I think with the benefit of having two days now, (that) should really give him the comfort level to do that. But you always talk with the trainers and things like that.”

Zuccarello and defenseman Jonas Brodin (upper body) will not be available this weekend.

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Taylor Heise’s hockey career rooted in Minnesota, from Red Wing H.S. to the Gophers to Minnesota’s WPHL franchise