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Craig Custance, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Polling the All-Stars: Wild can rebound

While not the most impressive of wins, the Minnesota Wild’s second-half charge might have started on Tuesday night. They beat the lowly Oilers in Edmonton to begin their post All-Star break season-rescuing mission.

The win also proves just how much work is cut out for the Wild. They beat the Oilers but still sit six points outside the final wild-card spot, with Colorado and Los Angeles still in front of them. Both of those teams made the playoffs last year. One of them won the Stanley Cup.

“We’ve dug ourselves a big hole, that’s the reality,” Wild GM Chuck Fletcher said when we chatted in Columbus during the All-Star break. “We’ll have an opportunity to play the teams we’re chasing. We’ll have an opportunity to have a well-rested, relatively healthy lineup. It’s time to put the best foot forward and focus on playing better. I think we’ll have a chance to put a run together here.”

Fletcher has company in that belief. We polled ten All-Stars to see which underachieving team from the first half had the best shot at making a charge in the second half, and the Wild equaled the Boston Bruins in support. Here’s why:

Minnesota Wild 

Three votes: Kevin Shattenkirk, Ryan Suter, Justin Faulk

How they dug the hole:

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