BOSTON -- The Minnesota Wild have earned a Stanley Cup playoff berth in each of the past four seasons. They are one of seven NHL teams to do so during that span, joining the Anaheim Ducks, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues.Under former coach Mike Yeo, the Wild did not get past the second round, losing three consecutive postseason series to the Blackhawks. During an eight-game losing skid in February, and a stretch during which Minnesota went 3-12-4, Yeo was fired and and John Torchetti was named interim coach.Last spring, it was the Dallas Stars who dispatched Minnesota in the first round. So the Wild made more changes. Torchetti was not retained and Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher hired veteran NHL coach Bruce Boudreau last May. Boudreau had spent a total of nine seasons between the Ducks and the Washington Capitals, winning eight division titles.Its pretty early to judge whether the changes will work in Minnesota.?Hard to make what kind of team they are [this early], said one Western Conference scout. Theyve had slow starts and their first periods have been awful, but they seem to wake up and play pretty well. Theyre scoring goals but need to give up fewer than they are. [Its a] funny team right now, and Im not sure what youll see from game-to-game.In the locker room and on the ice, the players are still getting used to Boudreaus system and personality.Its been a great transition. Its been a lot of fun around the rink, around the room, said Wild forward Zach Parise. As a team, theres still a lot we need to get better at, but were seeing it in spurts throughout games. The closer we can get to doing it more consistently, and more often throughout a game, its going to translate into more wins for us. It takes work, and weve got to continue to get better and keep learning. But, in the long run, its going to make us a better team.Getting used to a new coach is an adjustment for any team. Parise explained its been a unique challenge for the Wild this season because the majority of Minnesotas big-minutes players also participated in the World Cup of Hockey and werent around for the majority of training camp.Theres still that adjustment, but the quicker we can snap out of those old habits, itll be better for us, Parise said.Other than a new coaching staff, which also included assistant coaches Scott Stevens and John Anderson, the Wild signed forwards Eric Staal -- who won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 -- and Chris Stewart during the offseason. The tweaks to the coaching staff and roster have already had a positive effect on the Wild.Its still early, but I think its been good, said Wild forward Charlie Coyle. Yeah, its a little different -- new coach, new staff -- but for the most part we have the same team, minus a few guys. Were still getting used to each other, still creating that chemistry, but its going well. Everyone gets along. Were learning a new system. Sometimes it takes a little [time] to get used to, but were doing a good job of it so far.Adapting to a new coachs personality can sometimes be a even more challenging than the Xs and Os, but Boudreau is already being heard loud and clear in the dressing room.Hes a great guy, Coyle said. Everyone is a fan of him. His track record speaks for itself. Hes been successful, and all his teams were always at the top of the league. Everyone respects that and knows we can learn from him, so its nice to have a guy like that, and the whole staff as well. It takes some time to get used to the system, but weve had plenty of preseason time to get those reps in, so it comes natural now and we can go out there and just play hockey. 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The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Dwight Howard lost his cool, and the Atlanta Hawks lost a potentially key Eastern Conference game.Howard was ejected with 5:38 left and his team leading by three when he threw an elbow at the head of Charlotte center Cody Zeller and received a Flagrant-2 foul. The Hornets scored the next nine points -- seven by Kemba Walker -- and snapped Atlantas six-game winning streak with a 100-96 victory Friday night.Nic Batum had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Zeller matched his career high with 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting for the Hornets (8-3), who earned their biggest win of the season.Walker overcame a slow start to score 19 of his 21 points in the second half for his 10th straight 20-point game.Howard said afterward the contact wasnt intentional and he didnt think it cost his team the game.It wasnt like I tried to hit him in the face, but my job is to protect my house -- at all costs, said Howard, who finished with 10 points and 18 rebounds. I am making no apologies for it.Paul Millsap, who led the Hawks with 22 points and 13 rebounds, said the ejection fueled the home crowd.Plays like that are momentum shifts, Millsap said. It kind of sparked them. They took that and added fuel to the fire.The ejection revved up the crowd -- and apparently Walker, too.The 6-foot point guard drove baseline and made a reverse layup to give the Hornets the lead for good. Walker added another layup off a hesitation dribble and then connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to push the lead to six.Zeller said after the game he didnt think Howards elbow to the face was a dirty play.I have taken a lot of hard hits with two older brothers, Zeller said. I knew it was going to be a physical game. But it was a huge play in the game because they couldnt go to him late in the game and we went on a run.TIP-INSHawks: Howard had 11 rebounds at halftime, while the reest of the starting lineup had two combined.dddddddddddd ... The Hawks shot just 3 of 17 from the field in the fourth quarter.Hornets: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist did a nice job guarding Kyle Korver, limiting him to two points through the first three quarters. ... Jeremy Lamb was close to returning to the lineup but is still bothered by a hamstring injury.STRONG SECOND HALFWalker, who came in averaging 25.8 points per game -- the third-best mark in the Eastern Conference -- missed all seven of his shots from the field in the first half but was 8 of 13 the rest of the way.There wasnt anything different, Walker said. I was aggressive all night, I just stayed aggressive. At one point shots just werent falling for me like they have been lately. I stuck with it, my teammates just kept telling me `stay with it, its going to fall. I just tried to play the game and pick my spots and I was able to come up with some big plays.HORNETS COMEBACKSIn six of Charlottes eight wins the team has come back from 10 points down. Now, the Hornets have a busy stretch coming up with 18 games in 32 days.If were a good team, the kind of team we need to be, then we have to get on this plane with the right attitude and find a way to play a good game tomorrow night on the road and win, coach Steve Clifford said. Thats what the good teams do.SUPPORTING DWIGHTKorver threw his support behind Howard after the game.Hes just kind of a safety net for us, Korver said. Hes back there with all that size, I think he had 18 rebounds tonight, and hes back there to protect the paint. Thats his job. Thats what hes great at.UP NEXTHawks: Travel to New York to face the Knicks on Sunday afternoon.Hornets: Head out on the road to New Orleans to face the Pelicans on Saturday night. ' ' '