Friday morning update: Very few players are practicing today, only the scratches last night and the guys who got very limited minutes, so Kent will be on later with an update as I work on the Sunday package.

Here’s also Jim Souhan’s outstanding column last night. It was covered under that see more related items link this morning. Just so you know, there’s some other links under there, too.

Could the Wild have something special brewing here?

Chris Simon certainly thinks so. He thinks the Wild has the ingredients to “go all the way.”

And he’s one to listen to. After all, this 36-year-old has won a Cup and played in two other Cup Finals, and he says this team reminds him of the Calgary team that went to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004 — the same Flames team that lost in Game 7 to Tampa Bay but probably got robbed in Game 6 when replays later were discovered that Martin Gelinas scored a goal that Nikolai Khabibulin turned away behind the goal line.

But Simon couldn’t believe how good the crowd was tonight, like the one penalty kill early in the third that drew a standing ovation.

“They gave us that extra jolt to turn it up to another level,” Simon said. “Guys were blocking shots, finishing checks, making hits. It brought our game to another level.”

Credit the calming influence of Simon and Todd Fedoruk for also perhaps saving the game. With the Wild up 2-1 early in the third period on Marian Gaborik’s goal, Gaborik appeared to score another by stuffing a shot inside Miikka Kiprusoff’s pads.

Replays clearly showed the puck crossing the goal line. It was never covered. But referee Chris Lee emphatically waved it off. Even though it was announced the play was under review, it never was.

According to NHL official Mike Murphy in an email to me, Lee told the Toronto warroom he was in the act of blowing the whistle, which makes this unreviewable play. In other words, just thinking about blowing it dead makes it dead, and the Wild got the short end.

But Simon and Fedoruk started going up and down the bench telling everybody to keep it calm, stay focused, etc., and coach Jacques Lemaire credited them with helping the team stay “cool.”

And of course, the Wild got that other power play and Gaborik came through with his second goal — or what should have been his hat trick tally — to lift the Wild to its first-ever division title in the first round.

Calgary still backed into the playoffs. Vancouver lost to Edmonton 2-1, meaning the Canucks are eliminated from playoff contention by those SpOilers and Calgary and Nashville are in.

You know the Cup Changes everything playoff promos running on NHL Network? I just saw a Roberto Luongo one. They should probably pull it now.

Right now, the Wild would host Colorado in the first round. If Calgary loses in Vancouver on Saturday, Colorado would almost be locked in sixth (Dallas has 95 points and two games left) before the Wild even plays Colorado on Sunday.

Right now, I’d expect the Wild to rest a whole bunch of players Sunday — maybe Nik Backstrom, Brian Rolston, Pavol Demitra and Kim Johnsson at the very least — and maybe even leave them home in Minnesota. And if it were me, since there’s a good chance they play Colorado, I’d give Marian Gaborik a rest. If the game means squat, why risk an Avalanche player taking a run at him, or dare I say, Gaborik tweaking his — you get the point?

The Stephane Veilleux-Mikko Koivu-Branko Radivojevic line was outstanding tonight, holding Jarome Iginla to an assist as he continues to search for No. 50.

Fedoruk was awfully skilled tonight, not just on his goal: “I’ve got some touch,” he quipped.

Brent Burns made the crowd roar with his fight with Dion Phaneuf after Phaneuf elbowed Veilleux. But Lemaire wasn’t happy at all. He doesn’t want Burns risking a broken hand or something. “Whoops, what do we have left?” Lemaire said.

Other tidbits:

– Gaborik has five multi-point games in his last eight and two two-goal games in a row. He nows has 42, a team record, and tied his own team record with his eighth winner. The Wild is 33-3-3 when he scores two goals or more in his career and 24-0-2 when he has three points or more (he assisted on Fedoruk’s goal).

– Jacques Lemaire got win No. 500. “It’s 500. The division is more important to me.”

– Niklas Backstrom made 26 saves, his biggest on Iginla seconds after Gaborik’s first third-period goal. It was his 33rd win. He’s 7-0-4 in his last 11 decisions overall, with a 1.61 goals against average and .944 save percentage in that span. He’s 7-0-1 since March 15, with a 1.41 GAA and .950 SP. In 26 career March/April decisions, he’s lost twice in regulation. In his last six home starts, he’s 6-0 with a 0.83 GAA and .970 SP.

Safe to say he’s hot at the right time?

– Fedoruk’s goal was a career-high sixth.

– Wild has won six straight at home and five straight regular-season home finales.

– Text from Kurtis Foster: “What a Game!” He plans to be at Game 1 someway, somehow.

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