Last week, we were worried that the Wild couldn’t win against a good hockey team in April.
After Sunday’s meltdown against Calgary at the X, Minnesota is just hoping to finish in seventh place in the Western Conference standings so they don’t have to play Chicago in the first round of the playoffs.
If they make the playoffs.
What are the experts saying after Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Flames? It isn’t pretty…
Hockey Wilderness blog, SB Nation: “This was a pretty awful game from start to finish. With the exception of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, every person on the team was either invisible or downright horrible. Passes were off and communication was non-existent.”
Chad Graff, Pioneer Press: “This is the homestretch and the Wild need a win, maybe three points to get in. Equally important, they need to get in playing well. They only have three more chances in the regular season.”
Tom Powers, Pioneer Press: “Forty-five games into a 48-game season, the Wild still haven’t found their way. They’ll play with panache for a period and look timid the next … In other words, there is zero consistency.”
Dave Campbell, Associated Press: “But a young team with nothing to lose and a lot to prove can be just as dangerous of an April opponent as one fighting for a spot in the playoffs. The Flames won five of their previous seven games coming in.”
Jim Souhan, Star Tribune: “(Wild fans) sit, quietly, during the Wild’s lifeless third period. Most of them file out early. The rest use their hands as seat cushions. Their team needs only a couple of victories to earn its first playoff berth since 2008. They seem to expect the worst.”
Michael Russo, Star Tribune: “Suddenly, the defending champion Los Angeles Kings come to town Tuesday before pesky Edmonton arrives Friday. The Wild finishes in Denver on Saturday in what could be a must-win game if the Wild doesn’t win the next two at home.”
Mike Doyle, Wild.com:“It’s hard to believe the Wild’s top line of Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle only had one goal tonight, as they were running on all cylinders. It might’ve been the most dominant performances on the ice I’ve seen from a line without someone having at least a couple of goals.”
