The Wild’s positive momentum came to a halt when they ran into a brick wall named Pekka Rinne and Nashville on Saturday in a 3-0 loss.
With the loss, Chicago has clinched the best record in the Western Conference and home ice advantage throughout the West playoffs.
Alex Stalock made his second consecutive start in goal for the Wild and he was again solid with the exception of two Nashville goals 10 seconds apart late in the second period. The first came on a deflection that Stalock couldn’t have done anything about. The second he was just beaten by a nice move.
Minnesota will likely go back to Devan Dubnyk for the second half of their back-to-back Sunday at home against Colorado, where the Wild will get another shot to reach 100 points on the season.
Nashville plays a critical back-to-back Sunday in St. Louis. Minnesota will almost certainly host St. Louis or Nashville, who are tied with 91 points, in the first round of the playoffs.
