Nearly two weeks into the NHL season, a lot of attention has been focussed on teams either off to strong starts (Dallas, Buffalo) or unexpected slow ones (Nashville, Ottawa, Boston).

Surprisingly little attention has been given to the Minnesota Wild, a team that is tied with the Stars and Sabres for the best overall record (5-0) in the league.

What makes the Wild's strong start even more surprising is how they've been winning, with a strong offensive attack.

Since their inception in 2000-01, the Wild have been known as a tight-checking defensive club with an anaemic offence powered by young star Marian Gaborik and precious little else.

That system appeared to be working well for the Wild until last season, when the NHL's new rules opening up the offensive game made it apparent that this club needed to change tactics.

In the off-season management brought in scoring depth in forwards Pavol Demitra and Mark Parrish and defenseman Kim Johnsson, but there were questions if head coach Jacques Lemaire, the man credited (or blamed) for introducing trapping hockey to the NHL in the mid-1990s, could change his tactics to adapt to the new rules.

Critics forgot that before Lemaire won a Stanley Cup and coaching accolades, he was a high-scoring center with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1960s and 1970s, which included being linemates with fellow Hall of Famers Guy Lafleur and Steve Shutt, two forwards renowned for their offensive stylings.

The result has been a change in Lemaire's tactics based on a simple premise: let his "Wild" horses run.

The Wild are still a defensively responsible team, as in their first give games they've given up only ten goals, and after giving up over 30 shots per game in their first three games have given up between 24-26 in their last two.

But it's their offensive game that has caught observers and opponents off-guard. The Wild has scored 19 goals in their first five games, the second-highest total in the Western Conference and sixth-highest in the league. Four Wild forwards - Gaborik, Demitra, Brian Rolston and Pierre-Marc Bouchard - are among the top thirty points leaders.

It's a long season, of course, and one cannot get a full measure of a season based on only the first five games, but it's apparent that the Wild have embraced a new offensive style, one that if it can be maintained throughout the season, could translate into the first post-season appearance by this club since 2003.