ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild were reeling as last year ended. Star Zach Parise was on injured reserve. Coach Mike Yeos job was in jeopardy. Then the problems really piled up. Starting goalie Josh Harding was out of action again with an illness. Captain Mikko Koivu broke his ankle. Defenceman Jared Spurgeon got hurt, too. Somehow, the Wild survived -- and thrived. "Ah, it was a piece of cake," Yeo said last week, smiling wryly. "I slept like a baby." With an 11-4-2 record in 17 games since the calendar turned to 2014, the Wild have taken control of the first of two wild-card spots in the Western Conference playoff race. With 69 points, theyre ahead of Phoenix and Dallas, who have 64 apiece and have played one fewer game. Eight of those 11 wins were in regulation. "All I wanted to do is I wanted our players to look at me and say, OK, hes got confidence. OK, well, we should have confidence," Yeo said. "That was the one thing that I wanted. And I did believe in the group that we had still. And I did believe in the game that we played." The Wild still have had trouble scoring, ranking 25th in the NHL with 2.36 goals per game. With Hardings return unknown and Niklas Backstrom injured and ineffective at different times this season, Darcy Kuemper has taken over in the net. Relying on a rookie goalie can be a risk. But Parise is back in form from his broken foot. Spurgeon has returned. Koivu is skipping the Olympics and expected at full strength when the schedule resumes on Feb. 27. Nino Niederreiter, acquired in a draft-day trade, has given the offence a boost. Mikael Granlund has bounced back from a rough rookie year. "I think weve got good character," leading scorer Jason Pominville said. "A lot of guys stepped up in different situations. It wasnt easy at times. You could tell that we were missing some of our key guys, but I think other guys kind of found a way to adjust their game and get adjusted to the level of our play that you have to be successful night in and night out." During Yeos tenure as coach, the Wild have seemed to play better in less-than-ideal circumstances than when in tip-top shape. "Knowing our group, knowing competitors in general, they love a challenge," Yeo said. "So I think we all do." League realignment was welcomed by the Wild, for enhanced regional rivalries to better entice fans and more games in their own time zone. But this season, the new look has made their post-season bid more difficult. Only the top three teams in each division are guaranteed a playoff spot, and St. Louis (84 points), Chicago (84) and Colorado (79) are comfortably ahead of the Wild, who have only 23 games left. "Weve just got to focus on winning games and when we play Colorado, try to beat them and try to lessen that cushion that they have on us and try to slowly creep up on them," Pominville said. Added Parise: "Thats hard to gain that many points. But you never know. ... Youve got to push the teams down that are below you, and we have to take care of ourselves." The non-Olympians on the roster will reconvene for practice next week. The Wild will have to be careful not to lose the momentum they built, with 21 days between games. "Much the same as out of the lockout, its how can you get yourself game ready?" Yeo said. "Making sure that youre ready to execute and play at the pace that you need to play at, making sure that youre ready to battle at the level you need to, and making sure that the conditioning is at the level that you need it at." Adidas Eqt Kengät . Louis Blues have returned to the top spot in the TSN. Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 Suomi . -- Kyle Busch edged teammate Joey Logano at the Bristol Motor Speedway finish line Friday night to become the all-time winningest driver in Nationwide Series. http://www.nmdhalvalla.com/. Terry came from Boston along with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce but has appeared in just 35 games after a knee injury, averaging 4.5 points on 36 per cent shooting. Evans was a favourite of fans but not coach Jason Kidd, who used him in just 30 of their 51 games. Adidas Prophere Kengät .The long-haired pivot, who joined the Alouettes midway through the CFL season and put up a 9-3 record as a starter, will be listed as the top quarterback in training camp next spring.With a full training camp under his belt, the Alouettes will see if he has what it takes to get them back to the Grey Cup game after a four-year absence. Adidas Kengät Ale . Erik Logan, president of the network, said Friday that the postponement was made after meetings with the St. Louis Rams.SAO PAULO, Brazil -- A smaller-than-capacity crowd and a few setbacks marked the final test event at the unfinished stadium set to host the World Cup opener in less than two weeks. Only 37,000 people attended Sundays Brazilian league match at the Itaquerao in Sao Paulo, which wont hold a full crowd until the opening game between Brazil and Croatia on June 12. There were no major problems inside or outside the stadiium, but some fans still complained of difficulties accessing the venue because of heavy traffic and lack of adequate instructions by local authorities.dddddddddddd The match also had to be briefly interrupted after balloons released by fans made it onto the field, and the announcement of a substitution on the stadiums big screen upset one of the coaches because he had not yet authorized the change. ' ' '