TEMPE, Ariz. — In the past few days the Wild have received a ton of help in the standings as many of the teams they’re chasing for the final playoff spot have lost games. That said, to take full advantage, the Wild have to continue to win games themselves.

That’s exactly what the Wild did with a 3-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday night at Mullett Arena. Not only have the Wild (25-23-5, 55 points) now won four games in a row, they are inching closer and closer to the St. Louis Blues (28-22-2, 58 points) for the final playoff spot.

It was a rather dominant effort by the Wild as they finished with a 43-26 advantage in shots on goal. Joel Eriksson Ek, Jonas Brodin, and Matt Boldy scored the goals, while Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 25 saves between the pipes. That helped the Wild exact some revenge after suffering a 6-0 loss to the Coyotes on home ice last month.

After stepping up twice on the penalty kill in the first period, the Wild garnered a power play of their own and made it 1-0 with a pretty play near the crease. Though the goal went to Eriksson Ek in the box score, it wouldn’t have been possible without brilliant setup by Boldy, as well as a smart play by Kirill Kaprizov in close quarters.

It looked like the Coyotes had tied the game late in the second period when a point shot from winger Nick Schmaltz found the back of the net. As soon as the puck whizzed past Marc-Andrew Fleury, however, he turned to the official to voice his displeasure.

That reaction was enough for head coach John Hynes to challenge for goaltender interference, and upon further review, the officials disallowed the goal, ruling that center Barrett Hayton made contact with Fleury in a way that impaired his ability to play his position.

That proved to be a big swing because the Wild stretched their lead to 2-0 a few minutes later when Jonas Brodin raced up the ice and whistled a wrist shot into the back of the net.

With the Wild trying to put the game away in the third period, winger Logan Cooley got the Coyotes back into it with a goal cut the deficit to 2-1. It was fortunate bounce for the former Gophers star as Cooley’s shot appeared to deflect in off the stick of college teammate Brock Faber.

Not long after that, Boldy accepted a pass Eriksson Ek, made a decisive move off the rush, and beat goaltender Karel Vejmelka to make it 3-1. It was the latest highlight for the new top line as the trio of Eriksson Ek centering Kaprizov and Boldy has combined for 19 points since Hynes put them together last week.

Now the Wild will look to keep things rolling against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night at the Xcel Energy Center.

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