Two points would’ve been nice for the Minnesota Wild but one will have to do as they lost 3-2 in a shootout against the Blues in St. Louis on Saturday night.
Minnesota trailed 2-0 after Brayden Schenn scored 27 seconds into the third period, but the Wild bounced back with a goal from Marco Ross just 43 seconds after Schenn and then with 3:39 left in regulation Kirill Kaprizov deflected a puck by Jordan Binnington.
At 74 points, Minnesota will enter play Sunday three points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference. But St. Louis is up to 73 points with a game in hand, Calgary is at 71 points with a game in hand Seattle is lurking with 68 points and two games in hand.
Can the Wild keep pace with Vegas and hold off the Blues, Flames and Kraken?
It could prove difficult as seven of Minnesota’s final 14 games are against teams currently in a playoff spot, including six more games against Central Division foes that they’ve struggled with all season long. While the Wild have been able to handle their business with the Blackhawks, who Minnesota will pay a visit to on April 7, they are 0-7-1 against the Central’s top three teams (Winnipeg, Dallas, Colorado) this season.
The Wild are mercifully done with Dallas, who outscored Minnesota 19-5 in their three meetings, but they still have two more against the Avs (April 4 in St. Paul and April 9 in Denver) and one more (April 6 in St. Paul) against the Jets.
Adding to the degree of difficulty is the Wild’s need for regulation wins, which is the top tiebreaker in determining playoff position. With 26 wins in regulation, the Wild have the same amount as the Blues and trail Calgary and Vegas, who each have 27 regulation wins.
But the tough schedule also presents opportunities to make up ground. Along with one more date with the Blues, Minnesota has two games against the Golden Knights – a Mach. 30 meeting in St. Paul and Apr. 12 in Vegas – and a home game with the Kraken in the season finale on March 18.
With games against the Ducks and the Senators and two games against the last-place Sharks, Minnesota is in a better spot than it was a week ago but the final 30 days of the regular season could be, for lack of a better term, wild.
