SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- It felt like a playoff preview, save for the fact that it's likely either the Minnesota Wild or the Colorado Avalanche will get to the post-season, while the other sits home.

It was the Wild who took a big step toward the playoffs Tuesday, beating the Avalanche 6-3 with a trio of third period goals.

Center Charlie Coyle scored twice in the final period for Minnesota, which trailed early, then got goals from right winger Nino Niederreiter, left winger Jason Pominville and center Erik Haula to take a 3-1 lead. Colorado rallied to tie, but Coyle's game-winner plus an empty-net goal -- Niederreiter also scored an empty-netter -- pulled Minnesota even with the Avalanche in the race for the West's final playoff spot.

Goalie Devan Dubnyk had 30 saves for the Minnesota (29-25-10), which improved to 3-0-1 vs. the Avalanche this season.

"Somehow, right now, we're in a pretty good spot. We're in a spot where if we win our games, we're gonna be there," said Dubnyk, reflecting on the eight-game winless streak last month that cost previous head coach Mike Yeo his job. "It certainly didn't feel that way with the stretch we went on. We've got 18 games now to control our own destiny and that's a spot we're happy to be in."

Right winger Jarome Iginla scored early for the Avalanche (32-29-4), who trailed by a pair before defenseman Chris Bigras and left winger Cody McLeod spurred a rally. Calvin Pickard took the loss in goal with 15 saves in the final 40 minutes. He replaced starter Semyon Varlamov who had nine saves but allowed three goals in the opening period.

Coyle's first goal, his career-high 20th of the season, came on a tap-in after left winger Zach Parise froze Pickard on the right post, then found Coyle uncovered at the left of the net. With the win, Minnesota improved to 6-3-0 under interim head coach John Torchetti. Coyle hit an empty net in the final two minutes to seal the win. And Niederreiter got another empty net goal in the final minute.

"It was a great start obviously. That first was huge," Coyle said. "We dipped a little in the second, so we came in, we knew we had more, we knew we weren't going to win that way. We picked it up and everyone kind of pulled the rope a little more. And we got the result because of it.

Left winger Mikkel Boedker, acquired by Colorado in Monday's trade with Arizona, had an assist in his Avalanche debut.

The game was less than a minute old when the Avalanche took the lead. Niederreiter was whistled for tripping just 12 seconds into the game, and on Colorado's first power-play shift, Iginla blasted a shot from the top of the left circle that found a tiny gap under Dubnyk's right arm. It was the 608th goal of Iginla's career, tying him with Dino Ciccarelli for 17th place on the NHL's all-time goal scoring list.

"We had some breakdowns, but we got back in it, great second period," Iginla said. "It was really a one-goal game; they get the big goal there to go up 4-3 and then there's two empty-netters. It's a tight game and we expected that with the importance. It's a big win for them, it's a tough loss for us, but seeing that we get right back it. We expect it to be a great race right down to the finish."

Niederreiter made up for his penalty near the midway point of the period to knot the score. The play began at the far blue line, where Pominville picked the pocket of a Colorado defender then sprung Niederreiter with a quick pass. Niederreiter fooled Varlamov low on the blocker side.

A mere 61 seconds later, Niederreiter's pass led to Pominville's breakaway goal, giving Minnesota its first lead. And Haula split a pair of Colorado defenders for a breakaway late in the period, tucking a shot between Varlamov's knees for a 3-1 lead. It was the career-best ninth goal of the season for Haula.

"I'm not going to throw Varly under the bus here," said Avalanche coach Patrick Roy, after his in-game goalie switch. "There's highs and lows in the career and those things happen. Right now it's a tougher time for him."

Pickard started the second period and was greeted with a flurry of shots right away, but got some goal support when Bigras made it 3-2 with his first NHL goal. He was alone in the left circle after a rink-wide pass from center Matt Duchene and snapped a high shot past Dubnyk's blocker.

McLeod made it 3-3 by capping off a two-on-one rush to the net. The puck glanced off McLeod's skate before sliding over the line, prompting a review to confirm it was a good goal. McLeod had gone the previous 23 games without a goal.

"Everything is right, you're in control of what your own destiny is," Torchetti said, with the Wild back in a playoff spot for the first time since late January. "We can't be scoreboard watching, we have to just be detailed, and refining our game, and keep working hard, and competing. Our battle-level is pretty good, but we want it great."

NOTES: With D Eric Gelinas joining the Avalanche after Monday's trade with the New Jersey Devils, the team made D Andrew Bodnarchuk a healthy scratch. ... Tuesday's game was the first one Minnesota has played in nearly 10 years without G Niklas Backstrom on its roster. The Wild's last game without Backstrom in their system was on April 15, 2006. He was traded to the Calgary Flames on Monday. ... Wild D Jonas Brodin, recently activated off the injured reserve list, skated in practice on Tuesday but was not in uniform. ... With the famed Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament occupying Xcel Energy Center starting Wednesday, the Wild head out on a two-game road swing to Toronto and Buffalo, starting Thursday. ... The Avalanche return to Denver for four consecutive home games, starting Thursday vs. the Florida Panthers.