Wilderness Walk: Wild have best record in NHL

That’s Wild

• The Minnesota Wild are at the top of the NHL. That’s right, they have the most points out of all 32 teams with 39 and a 19-6-1 record after defeating the San Jose Sharks on the road on Thursday. [NHL]
• Jared Spurgeon made his return to the ice in San Jose, but Matt Dumba was unable to participate due to being under the weather. So, when the entire blue line is healthy, who is going to be the odd man out? Some guys are just playing too well right now to justify being scratched, but there has to be a tough decision made. [Hockey Wilderness]
• Joel Eriksson Ek really stifled any offense coming from Connor McDavid when they faced each other this week. [10K Rinks]

Off the trail...

• The Philadelphia Flyers are stuck in the mud and slowly sinking down the standings. They’ve already fired their coach, but have also locked up a significant amount of their core for the future — except one captain Claude Giroux who is on an expiring deal. So...where do they go from here? [Broad Street Hockey]
• Chicago Blackhawks (weird) goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury earned his 500th win, joining just Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy in the record books. He’s also the fastest out of the three to earn that milestone. [Yahoo! Sports]