Leave it to the Wild.

Last month it looked as if its season was sinking. But since New Year's Eve, the Wild has played three division leaders and has improved to 3-0-1 in its past four with wins over San Jose, Boston and Colorado and an overtime loss to Detroit.

"That's what it took to get us to play our true game," center James Sheppard said.

The latest win—a 1-0 win over the prolific Boston Bruins—was impressive. The Wild clogged things up like the old days.

"We checked pretty much the whole game," said coach Jacques Lemaire, grinning. "Checking team. We're back to a checking team."

Goalie Niklas Backstrom says it must continue.

"We need to play like this every night," Backstrom said.

The Minnesota Wild showed why they're the NHL's top defensive team by completely shutting down the league's best offensive club. Niklas Backstrom stopped 28 shots for his second straight shutout and fifth of the season to lead Wild to a 1-0 win over Boston, handing the Bruins their first shutout of the season on Tuesday night.