Parise: “We Need to do a Better Job Beating the Top Teams”

Through the Wild’s recent stretch of 14-3-2, they’ve defeated both the best team in the league and the worst team in the league. According to Zach Parise, the team leader in points with 46, it’s going to take more of the former to get where they want to be.

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Prior to Saturday night’s showdown with bitter rival Colorado, he spoke about how big the recent victory in Nashville was for the team moving forward.

“At least if you do see (Nashville) you know you can win in that rink. That’s helpful, but the playoffs are such a different story. I think that we still need to do a better job of beating those top teams. We’ve got a lot of games against St. Louis coming up, we’ve got a lot of games against Nashville, we play LA and Anaheim, we’ve got to beat these teams. I think we’ve been winning the games that we should win and need to win but those are the teams that we have to beat on a regular basis.”

The Wild have plenty of chances against the class of the NHL to come, with games on the horizon against St. Louis (3), Nashville (2), Anaheim, Detroit and both New York teams.

With the team teetering on the edge of the playoffs, there is no single game left in the regular season more important than the others. Each one is crucial. But what Parise is saying is that in order to be the best, the Wild have to beat the best. Last year, they proved their worth by beating the Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs, but then lost to the Blackhawks. Beating less talented teams means nothing if the top ones are able to end your season.

For that reason, Thursday night’s victory over Nashville was very important. It wasn’t a blowout by any means, but the Wild were able to show their shutdown-ability against the team they’d face if the regular season ended today.

Now that Los Angeles seems to have found its hold on a playoff spot, Minnesota is in a good spot with only 3 teams to really worry about: Calgary, San Jose and Winnipeg.

Calgary is the closest team behind the Wild, but seem to be sputtering out of control. They’ve lose four of their last five games and have fallen from first wildcard to first out. Minnesota is one point ahead of Calgary with one game in hand and one more meeting on the schedule.

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San Jose has been asleep all season, but you never know what will happen if they wake up. They trail the Wild by 3 points and have played an extra game, but a team with such rich recent history is always on the radar.

Finally, the Winnipeg Jets are where the Wild hope to end up. They hold the first wildcard spot, the place Minnesota finished last year. It’s a tight race right now, as Winnipeg has 3 more points but has played two more games.

The way things are unfolding right now, I predict the Wild will end up in the first wildcard spot (7th seed) when it’s all said and done.

The tough road continues for the Wild Saturday night, when they roll into Denver to play an Avalanche team that isn’t all too pleased with them. The Wild are 3-0-0 on the season series with Denver, scoring nine goals and allowing none. With points at as premium a price as ever, we should be in for a heck of a game.

Next: Bergenheim Brings Speed, Work Ethic and Experience to Wild

Feb 22, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise (11) celebrates his goal with defenseman Christian Folin (5) during the third period against the Dallas Stars at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Stars 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports