No team is hotter than the Minnesota Wild entering the playoffs and they will have home ice where they have been dominant at the Xcel Energy Center when they open their best-of-seven playoff series Monday night against the St. Louis Blues.
Minnesota is 8-1-1 in its last ten games (the best most recent ten-game stretch in the league) and 19-2-3 since the middle of March, including an overtime loss to the Blues in St. Louis.
Here’s the schedule for the series:
Getting home ice was a big deal for Minnesota because they have not won at St. Louis since the 2018-19 season. Minnesota dropped two games in overtime at St. Louis this season, and they lost all four games in St. Louis last season…and all three games they played there in 2019-20.
Only two teams – Colorado and Florida – lost fewer home games in regulation than Minnesota. The Wild went 31-7-2 inside the Xcel Energy Center, and they have one other “home” loss because of the Winter Classic beatdown by the Blues in sub-zero conditions at Target Field on New Year’s Day.
How have Minnesota’s games with the Blues gone this season?
- Jan. 1: lost 6-4 at Target Field
- April 8: lost 4-3 in overtime at St. Louis
- April 16: lost 6-5 in overtime at St. Louis
Throw in the fact that the Blues are 26-10-5 at home and you can see just how valuable starting the series in St. Paul is for the Wild.
