Wild in Playoff Position For First Time Since Thanksgiving
Feb 22, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise (11) celebrates his goal on Dallas Stars goalie Jhonas Enroth (1) during the third period at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Stars 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
With their win over the Dallas Stars Sunday night, the Minnesota Wild are now in the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference Playoff race. This may not seem like such a big deal until you consider:
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- The Wild were as many as eight points back in the Wild Card race at one point.
- They are 11-1-1(!) since the NHL All-Star Break.
- They had killed 32 straight power plays until the Stars finally scored one on the man advantage Sunday.
- The Wild now find themselves in playoff positioning for the first time since November 24th. Seriously, think about how long ago that actually was. It was three days before Thanksgiving. More than a month before Christmas. I still barely knew who Devan Dubnyk was at that point.
Of course, getting into playoff position in February is not what is ultimately important. All that really matters is being there when the regular season ends. The Wild have actually played so well that they have an outside chance of cracking the top 3 positions in the Central Division. The Wild are now only 6 points behind the Chicago Blackhawks with a game in hand on the ‘Hawks. If I was a betting man instead of just an occasional weekend blackjack player I would guess that the Wild will make the postseason but probably won’t quite catch Chicago. We shall see though.
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It will be impossible for the Wild to carry the .846 winning percentage they have been clipping at since the arrival of Dubnyk. Still, there is no reason they can’t keep playing well. They have confidence and as long as the goaltending stays up to snuff there’s no reason that should change.
It is nice to have a positive story to write about. I am excited about the direction the Vikings are heading but it is clouded by the Adrian Peterson debacle. It will be nice when they are playing games again so we can focus on what really matters. The Twins just started Spring Training but won’t be playing real games for awhile yet. Kevin Garnett coming back and Andrew Wiggins growing his game is great but it is another lost season for the Wolves. The Wild are winning actual games with actual playoff implications. Let’s enjoy it.