Good thing the Wild beat Nashville Saturday night, because the Colorado Avalanche also won, keeping the Central Division and Wild Card races in the Western Conference very tight.
At 92 points, the Wild are currently third in the division, but just two points in front of Colorado and three up on St. Louis. The L.A. Kings are also lurking in the wild card chase with 89 points.
And with their final eight games of the season taking place over the next 14 days, Minnesota has no room for error and very little time to rest. In fact, they’re back in action Sunday against the Boston Bruins at 6:30 p.m.
“I did a lot of cursing between 5 and 7 o’clock tonight.
“They realize that we’re a good team when we want to be. Now your back is against the wall, so you have to be a good team.”
One thing the Wild has on its side is that it’s played one fewer game than the Avs, Blues and Kings, and a game in-hand is a big deal this late in the season.
Tiebreakers
The Wild own the tiebreaker against the Blues while the Avalanche have it against Minnesota. The tiebreaker between the Wild and Kings won’t be settled until they play each other one final time on April 5.
If the Wild finish third in the Central Division they’ll undoubtedly play Winnipeg in the first round of the playoffs.
Dropping down to the wild card would put them against Nashville or Vegas in the first round, which might not be all that bad considering the Wild are a combined 6-1 against the Golden Knights and Predators this season.
