The Minnesota Wild turned back the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 to gain sole possession of the Northwest Division lead.

"Let's face it, this is our playoff run," winger Brian Rolston said after the Wild moved two points ahead of Colorado and Calgary.

"We needed this win. We needed the two points," netminder Niklas Backstrom, who made 29 saves, said.

"It's good for our confidence to show we can play against these clubs."

Branko Radivojevic, scoring just his second goal in 36 games, put the Wild ahead midway the second period and Stephane Veilleux wrapped up the win with an empty-netter seven seconds from time.

Minnesota's Brent Burns and Colorado's Joe Sakic traded powerplay goals before Radivojevic's score.

The Wild begins a four-game road trip on Wednesday, facing San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton as the regular season heads to an April close.

"We're in playoff mode right now because we have to be," Rolston said. "This was a playoff-style game, and one of the advantages to the teams that are at the 84 (point) spot right now is that we're all going to be playoff ready."

Reuters