ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Wild extended their win streak to three games in a 5-3 victory over the Washington Capitals inside Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday night. The last time the Wild put together a win streak of more than two games came between Dec. 19-27 when they won four in a row.
The Wild came out strong and had a 2-0 lead after the first period on the strength of Brock Faber and Marcus Foligno goals. Marcus Johansson gave the Wild a 3-0 lead 6:28 into the middle frame before Anthony Mantha cut the Capitals’ deficit to 3-1 midway through the period.
Joel Eriksson Ek’s team-leading 20th goal of the season 1:37 into the third reclaimed the Wild’s three-goal lead before Johansson scored again to make it 5-1 with 6:21 left in the contest. Despite goals from T.J. Oshie and Mantha inside the final three minutes to cut the lead in half, the Wild held on.
“I really liked the mindset that we came home with coming off the road and the style of game that we need to be able to play,” coach John Hynes said.
“And just the consistency of it was important for us to be able to get to that game tonight, and I thought we did a pretty good job of it. ... We feel like we’re playing a strong game right now, and the challenge for us now is to continue that moving forward into the break.”
The Wild, who improved to 21-21-5 in the win, now just sit four points behind the Nashville Predators, who hold the second wild-card spot with a 25-21-1 record.
“I think right now we’re just trying to take it in segments and focus on these three homestands,” Marcus Foligno said postgame about looking at the standings.
“I think that’s really what it is. We do a little bit in, like, 10-game increments and try to win the 10-game sets, like 7 out of 10, or above .500. But we obviously know we need to lean toward 7 of 10 and records like that going forward here, and even more, right? We need to get on a run. We need to put a winning streak together — and now we’ve got three.”
The Wild face the Predators on Thursday in what is arguably the most important game of the season to date. If the Wild win in regulation, they can move to within just two points of the Predators.
“A really big, important game Thursday,” Foligno said. “We know what’s at stake, and we’ve got to put ourselves back in position where we come back from the break refreshed.”
Having the chance to get within two points of the second wild-card spot didn’t seem possible just 10 days ago, but the Wild are in this position after putting together a string of wins. The Wild lost 6-0 to the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 13 — which, at that point, marked their fourth loss in a row and their eighth loss in their past nine games.
Wild president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin expressed his belief in his team during a midseason press conference two days later on Jan. 15 ahead of their tilt against the New York Islanders.
“I still believe in this group,” Guerin said about his team that at the time sat eight points behind the Edmonton Oilers — who had four games in hand over the Wild at that point — in the second wild-card spot. Guerin also said, “If you look at our roster like when we are healthy, I think it’s a good team. I want to keep the expectations high. … I expect us to compete for a playoff spot.”
Put simply, the Wild had an uphill battle ahead of them to do so, and they still do. But the Wild have gone 4-1 since and have outscored the opposition 24-16. Guerin conveyed his belief at the podium that they would battle for a playoff spot — which is now more than a possibility or hope, but a reality if they keep building on their recent success.
Here’s what has happened since that loss to Arizona on Jan. 13:
Jan. 15 — 5-0 shutout win over the Islanders
Jan. 18 — 7-3 loss to the Lightning
Jan. 19 — 6-4 win over the Panthers
Jan. 21 — 5-2 win over the Hurricanes
Jan. 23 — 5-3 win over the Capitals
During this 15-period stretch, the Wild only have one poor period to show for — Tampa Bay’s three-goal third period.
“If we’re going to make the playoffs, we need to be a lot better than we’ve been,” Guerin said. “Our core guys, our big players, have to be better and produce at more key times. Our special teams have to be better, and our role players have to contribute more than they have. I believe that they can. I believe that they will, or I’m hoping that they will.”
Well, the Wild are getting results, and they’re receiving more production from both their top players and role players. Both Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov have five goals in the five games, and all six of Johansson, Foligno, Faber, Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Hartman and Jake Middleton have each scored twice.
Now, this is a small five-game sample size, so the Wild have a lot to prove still. They're hoping to build on tonight's win in these final two games of the homestand against the Predators and Anaheim Ducks before their 10-day break begins.
“It was a good three periods really,” Faber said. “I think we’re trying to build on that consistency of that game. Obviously the past three games, these are three good hockey teams, and we’ve shown that if we play that style of game, we have a chance against anyone, right? So just trying to build on that consistency and keep it rolling from here.”