Granlund posting career year for surging Wild

One year removed from barely sneaking into the playoffs as a wild-card club, the Minnesota Wild now rank first in the Western Conference heading into the All-Star break.

A number of possible causes for their turnaround have been offered - the astute coaching of new leader Bruce Boudreau, the Vezina-worthy play of Devan Dubnyk, or maybe the resurgence of veteran Eric Staal.

And yet few are talking about one of the most pivotal storylines unfolding in Minnesota - the newly elite play of 24-year-old Mikael Granlund.

In the midst of his fourth full NHL season, Granlund has graduated to full-fledged stardom for the Wild. The 2010 ninth overall pick has found a new gear in 2016-17, leading his team in scoring with 42 points through 48 games.

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That's a career-high scoring pace by a mile, as Granlund is just two points away from topping his personal best of 44, set last season over a full 82-game campaign. He's also just one goal away from matching his former top mark of 13.

Should Granlund continue to put up numbers at his current pace, he'll finish with 21 goals and 72 points. The Wild haven't seen any of their skaters top 70 points since Mikko Koivu in 2010.

Considering how well Granlund has been playing of late, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him push forward all the way to that 70-point plateau.

With a goal and an assist in Thursday's victory over St. Louis, Granlund has racked up 28 points over his past 24 games. He's riding a nine-game point streak, during which he's put up 11 points.

The Finnish star has flown under the radar through his first trio of NHL campaigns. It's taken time to notice Granlund, but he's proven he's more than a depth piece in Minnesota, and looks poised to lead the Wild on a march through the postseason come playoff time.