ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Wild opened the season 18-4-4. They were on top of the league standings on Dec 6. Since then, the Wild have gone 22-23-1 and rank 23rd in the NHL in that span.
Kirill Kaprizov has missed the last 22 games and Joel Eriksson Ek has not played in the last 15 games. All of a sudden, the Wild can't seem to score and the best start in the team's history has now turned into a grinding season that has them hanging on to a playoff spot with other teams on their heels.
The St. Louis Blues have won seven in a row and are now two points behind the Wild for the top wild card spot in the Western Conference.
The Calgary Flames won on Tuesday and are now six points behind the Wild for the top wild card and four behind the Blues. Calgary has only played 70 games. The Wild have played 72 games.
“We’re battling. The reality is what it is. We’re not going to give in. We’re going to battle hard," Mats Zuccarello said after the 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. "I think in the same, it’s one game. But I just think it’s better to be honest in what I feel when you’re out there and hopefully we can get a good day of rest, get in late last night, good day of rest and then we gotta get back at it. We need points. It’s a crucial time. Everyone’s behind us winning. It is what it is.”
If the season ended today, the Wild would play the Golden Knights in round one of the playoffs. Tuesday's game was a possible preview of a first round matchup.
“We know what we’re up against. We gotta raise to that level. Everything can happen in the playoffs, but first we gotta worry about getting there first of all," Zuccarello said. "But you play a solid game defensively but I think as of late, not scoring enough, maybe, I said it before, we gotta make plays. We gotta support each other. We gotta have guys come with speed. I don’t know. It’s hard. Today, you can mix and match, back-to-back, but we play against a team that it’s really hard to play against when they play like that and we don’t play like us.”
Minnesota is 2-8-3 in its last 13 games against Vegas and were swept in the season series. Vegas outscored Minnesota 12-4 in those three games. They have outscored them 49-28 in their last 13 games against the Wild.
If the Blues, who are on fire right now, pass the Wild for the top wild card spot, Minnesota would drop to the second wild card. They would match up against the Winnipeg Jets in the first round.
The Jets, who have been at the top of the Central Division all year, withstood the Wild's 18-4-4 start and have since taken hold of the division. Not only that, but they have won eight-straight games against Minnesota.
The Wild are 0-7-1 in their last eight against Winnipeg and have been outscored 28-12 in that span. They are 3-9-1 in their last 13 games against the Jets and have been outscored 43-29 in that span.
Their last win against the Jets came 749 days ago on March 8, 2023.
Nonetheless, the Wild are battling it a bit. They came into Monday's back-to-back with three straight wins. But they have now lost two straight to the Dallas Stars and Golden Knights.
Wild head coach John Hynes said before the game that he anticipates that Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek will start skating soon but with ten games left in the season, it isn't like those two will save the season.
'I Would Anticipate Them Hitting The Ice In Very Short Order': Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek To Begin Skating SoonST. PAUL - The Minnesota Wild (40-26-5) hosts the Vegas Golden Knights (42-20-8) tonight. Wild Head Coach John Hynes gave an update before the game about Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek.
So, is there a concern level with this team without Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek.
"It's just gonna be a battle till the end, right? We expect it. We're missing some big guys, obviously, and a few millions under the cap," Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said after the Wild's loss. "Guys are battling every night. They're trying their best to stay in it, to find ways to get points and that's why I love this group so much, the character they show every night. It will be a battle though that's for sure."
Speaking of battles, the Wild are set to continue their home stand on Thursday with a game against the best team in the league, the Washington Capitals.
They then play two against the New Jersey Devils, play two playoff hopefuls in the New York Rangers and New York Islanders and then host the Dallas Stars at home. They play a back-to-back with the Flames and the Vancouver Canucks to end the season. Two teams that are on the heels of the Wild in the standings.
It is starting to get real.
A 18-4-4 start could soon turn into the last spot in the Western Conference playoffs or worse, out of the playoffs.
The most frustrating part of this all is the it isn't for a lack of effort. The Wild are playing their butts off every night. In Dallas they blocked over 20 shots and played great offensively but just ran into a hot goaltender who shut them out. Vegas was the same.
"I mean, we got to build off of what we’ve done. I don't think we're playing bad by any means. We're doing a lot of good things. And, like I said, we had enough chances, I think, to score a few more goals tonight and then I think the end of the game might look a little different," Marcus Johansson said after the loss to Vegas. "We did a lot of good things in Dallas, I think, too. The puck’s not going in. It's hard to play with that confidence, and it's hard to have that in the group. It's tough, but we got to keep fighting. It's this time of year, and there's belief in this group."
On Tuesday, the Wild entered the third period down 2-0. They then proceeded to have one of their best periods of the season. Flying around the offensive zone and creating chances.
Johansson was able to get the Wild on the board early in the third but then a high-sticking penalty by Ryan Hartman put Vegas on the power play just over five minutes left.
The second best power play in the league converted just 13 seconds into the man-advantage. Jack Eichel scored his second of three on the night to make it a 3-1 game. Tanner Pearson, who drew the Wild's only penalty, scored into the empty net two minutes later.
Eichel picked up another with under three minutes left and pushed Vegas over Minnesota 5-1.
One small mistake turned a 2-1 game with the Wild in it, to a 5-1 loss in a matter of a snap of the finger.
Time will tell if the Wild can withstand this stretch of hockey with ten games left of the season or not. It just seems like a daunting task to try and win games 2-1 until you get some scoring help with Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek back.
Again, time will tell.
"We know what we can do. And like I said, there's definitely no quit. We're trying. We're working as hard as we can. And we’re trying to score different ways," Johansson said. "You can kind of tell. Guys are gripping the stick a little tighter. I mean, I have all year. It's not gone in, but like I said, it's not for lack of effort."
