Minnesota was dominant from start to finish on Saturday at  Xcel Energy Center, beating New York 5-1 before an announced crowd of 9,006. It was a performance coach Ken Klee couldn’t have drawn up much better.

In winning its fourth straight game, Minnesota grabbed an early lead, got goals from each of its top three lines and continued the stellar defensive play that has been its calling card throughout the season.

With one more game to play before the month-long break for the Women’s World Championship, Minnesota sits alone atop the Professional Women’s Hockey League standings.

Michela Cava scored two goals, giving her three in the past two games after being moved up to the top line. Kendall Coyne Schofield continued her recent increase in offensive production with her sixth goal of the season and Grace Zumwinkle added her team-leading ninth of the season.

And just as significantly, Claire Butorac continued Minnesota’s recent trend of getting goals from secondary scorers as she picked up her first of the season. Klee sees it as a good sign that Minnesota is starting to see production throughout the lineup.

“It’s a lot of fun, and they’re all happy for each other,” he said. “With Claire Butorac getting her first goal, Michela Cava with two great goals; she kind of got going last game.

“It was Denisa (Krizova) the game before that. For me, it’s the level of excitement that the players have for each other, when they’re having success and making plays. To me, that’s what a great team is about.

“I want to be able to roll four lines. Obviously, certain players play more than others in certain situations, but my teams, everyone has a role and everyone is important.”

To that end, Sydney Brodt made her season debut after being activated from long-term injured reserve. The former University of Minnesota Duluth captain picked up an assist on Butorac’s goal.

Butorac said she hadn’t put any added pressure on herself to break through on the score sheet but was pleased to be able to contribute.

“I think every night we take the ice as a team we really are a team,” she said. “We get contributions from top to bottom. We play as a team, and we take pride in that.”

Meanwhile, Minnesota continues to be the hardest team to score against, limiting teams to an average of 1.8 goals per game. Goaltender Maddie Rooney followed Nicole Hensley’s shutout performance on Wednesday with a strong effort of her own, with New York’s only goal coming on a power play.

“You look at their goals-against average and save percentage, they’re both at the top of the league, which is just outstanding,” Klee said. “It gives us a chance every night.”

Rooney credits her teammates for buying into being solid in their own zone.

“The defense is playing great,” Rooney said. “Tonight, I feel they kept a lot of the shots to the outside, and when the rebound was there they did a great job of clearing it. And, also, I thought we were breaking out a lot easier than in the previous couple of games.”

The four-game winning streak is Minnesota’s longest this season. Minnesota appears to be playing at its highest level to date.

“These past four games have definitely given us momentum,” Rooney said, “but we aren’t gong to take any opponent lightly. It’s just step on the gas pedal from here.”

Added Butorac: “Obviously, it’s nice to win four, but I don’t think we’re satisfied what that. We are going to push through to the end of the regular season.”

A win over Montreal next Sunday at Excel would send Minnesota into the break on a real high.

“We talked about how important these points are for us at home before the break,” he said, “because we know after the break we have four of five to finish on the road.”

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