Josh Harding is once again beginning to water his roots with the Minnesota Wild.

The former NHL goalie, who was forced to retire in 2015 due to complications from multiple sclerosis, finds himself rooting for his former club, and was recently invited by owner Craig Leipold to attend a couple Wild home dates.

Harding says he watches all the Wild games on TV and admires Devan Dubnyk's work in net, but observing rather than playing the game is a bittersweet feeling, he told Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.

"I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it every day," Harding said. "More than anything, I wanted to thank Mr. Leipold for all he did for me and my family. It was long overdue. You grow up a little bit and you come to terms with everything."

Harding, who only ever played for the Wild at the NHL level, signed a three-year, $5.7-million contract that expired in 2015. Apart from family life, he works with a nearby high school team.

Hardinal also explained the details of his hospitalization in 2014 as a result of dehydration during an AHL game, and admits continuing to play could have been disastrous, to the say the least.

"(Doctors) told me if I kept going, 'It’s not going to end well,'" Harding said. "It was the first time I realized it wasn’t just how much I was going through, it was how much I was putting everybody else through. I still had people that loved me, still had people that I loved that are more important than this game."

The Wild clinched a playoff spot Saturday, and will enter the postseason with the knowledge a former teammate is very much behind them.

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Ryan Smyth knows how to bounce back.

Three years removed from his NHL playing days, the forward made a speedy return to the Alberta Senior AAA men's league finals, suiting up for the Stoney Plain Eagles only two weeks after a vicious blindside hit that left him concussed.

Related: Smyth says men's league hit among hardest he's ever taken

The hit was delivered in Game 1 of a series against the Larcombe Generals, and earned Kyle Sheen a 16-game suspension. Smyth's return for Game 6 was a last ditch effort to help his team tie the series and avoid elimination.

Smyth scored in an eventual loss, and his hockey future remains in doubt as he considers his long-term health.

Clearly it takes a lot to keep Captain Canada off the ice.

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Claude Julien insists he's cool as a cucumber.

The Montreal Canadiens head coach tried to assure reporters of his calm demeanor after earning a 3-1 victory Saturday over the Ottawa Senators:

The Canadiens played the Senators three times in eight days and won all three games, prevailing by a combined 7-2 margin in their final two regular-season matchups.

Montreal holds a three-point lead over Ottawa atop the Atlantic Division. The Senators have a game in hand, but three fewer regulation or overtime wins, which would be the tiebreaker at season's end.

The Canadiens are 11-5-1 since firing Michel Therrien and re-hiring Julien on Feb. 14, when they were six points up on the Senators.

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Through the remainder of the regular season, we'll take a look at how the night's action impacts the playoff race, highlighting which teams' postseason odds went up or down significantly.

The Boston Bruins bought themselves a little breathing room with a big win in Brooklyn.

Losers of four straight heading into Saturday's action, the Bruins eked out a narrow victory, greatly boosting their playoff chances in the process.

While the Toronto Maple Leafs continue to sit rather comfortably, a loss to the Sabres - and an injury to goalie Frederik Andersen - has opened the door for possible regression to a wild-card spot.

Meanwhile, wins for the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators, as well as a point earned by the St. Louis Blues in an overtime loss, have put the Los Angeles Kings on the brink of being completely pushed out of the race.

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

To see percentages for the entire NHL, visit Sports Club Stats.

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Another year, another postseason appearance for the Minnesota Wild.

Despite a defeat at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday afternoon, the Wild clinched a playoff spot early Sunday morning, thanks to the Los Angeles Kings' 3-0 loss to the New York Rangers.

Minnesota will play in the postseason for the fifth consecutive year, and for the first time under head coach Bruce Boudreau.

It's the eighth playoff berth in the Wild's 16-year history, but they haven't made it out of the second round since their very first postseason run, when they advanced to the Western Conference Final under Jacques Lemaire in 2003.

The Wild sit second in the Central Division, eight points behind the first-place Chicago Blackhawks and seven points clear of the Nashville Predators.

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EDMONTON, Alberta - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Drake Caggiula each had a goal and an assist and the Edmonton Oilers moved into a three-way tie atop the Pacific Division with a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.

Benoit Pouliot and Leon Draisaitl also scored for the Oilers, who have won six of their last seven games and are now tied with San Jose and Anaheim at 91 points.

Sven Andrighetto scored for the Avalanche, who have dropped five games in a row.

Edmonton took a 1-0 lead on its first shot 1:54 into the opening period when Pouliot tipped Matt Benning's point shot past goalie Calvin Pickard.

Andrighetto scored 45 seconds later by fighting off Adam Larsson and tucked the puck past goalie Laurent Brossoit, who had 24 saves.

The Oilers retook the lead midway through the first on a goal from Draisaitl - his 27th goal and 70th point.

After a scoreless second period, the Oilers made it 3-1 with 11:14 remaining in the third when Caggiula redirected Nugent-Hopkins' pass past Pickard on the power play.

Nugent-Hopkins put the game away with another power-play goal with 4 1/2 minutes to play, his 16th of the season.

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San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture was taken to hospital Saturday after being struck in the mouth by a deflected shot from Brent Burns, CSN's Kevin Kurz confirmed.

Couture appeared to have lost a tooth in the ordeal, but Sharks fans will be hoping his admission to hospital doesn't signify more serious injuries.

It comes as more terrible news from the suddenly reeling Sharks, losers of six straight games. Couture ranks third on the team with 25 goals and 52 points.

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