The Wild’s April meltdown against good hockey teams continues.
Despite wins against lackluster Calgary and Edmonton, Minnesota has dropped three consecutive games against playoff contenders: Chicago, St. Louis and, last night, San Jose.
The final at the Shark Tank last night was 6-1, a step backwards for a team trying to inch upwards in a tight Western Conference playoff race.
Right now, Minnesota is just two points ahead of eighth-place Columbus and four points ahead of ninth-place Dallas with four games to go.
Here’s a roundup of what sportswriters and bloggers are saying, the morning after:
Hockey Wilderness blog, SB Nation: “We have 3 very winnable games left and 1 tough one when we welcome the Los Angeles Kings to town this Tuesday. At this point their are no excuses for missing the playoffs.”
Chad Graff, Pioneer Press: “A big chance went down the drain heading into the final week of the regular season.”
Michael Russo, Star Tribune: “We’ll see if this humbling experience tonight proves to be a wake-up call. The Wild … hasn’t beaten a team ahead of it in the standings since March 30 against Los Angeles.”
Mike Doyle, Wild.com:“Minnesota just looked out of sync tonight and it didn’t get any help from the hockey gods, as the Sharks’ first goal actually went off a Wild player.”
