The Minnesota Wild continue to waste prime opportunities down the stretch.
The Wild couldn't recover from a three-goal first-period deficit in a costly 6-0 road loss to the Los Angeles Kings inside Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night.
Phillip Danault scored 5:08 into the contest to give the Kings a 1-0 lead. Then Kevin Fiala and Viktor Arvidsson scored goals 1:23 apart in the final five minutes of the first for a three-goal lead after one. Matt Roy's goal 28 seconds into the second gave the Kings a four-goal lead, before Jordan Spence and Anze Kopitar added to their lead later in the period.
The loss marked just the third time the Wild have been shutout this season. Filip Gustavsson made 10 saves on 11 shots in relief of Marc-Andre Fleury, who allowed five goals on 16 shots.
The Wild — who convincingly beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-0 just 24 hours earlier — were once again unconvincing and had another no-show performance in an important game as they continue to chase after a playoff spot.
Plain and simple, the Wild haven't shown up in big games this season, and it's costing them. If they don't make the playoffs, it won't be difficult to find why. Now, in the Wild's defense, their injury riddled season has continued. The Wild were still without their top center in Joel Eriksson Ek on Wednesday, and their defensive stalwart in Jonas Brodin wasn't available after suffering a lower-body injury Tuesday in Anaheim.
With that said, the Wild, whose eight-game point streak ended in the loss, simply aren't doing themselves any favors in these spots. A win would have gotten them within a point of the second wild-card spot, which is currently held by the Vegas Golden Knights. Instead, the Wild allowed the Kings, a team in front of them, to widen the gap.
The Wild remain three points behind the Golden Knights, who have two games in hand on Minnesota. Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators and Kings have a seven-and-eight-point lead over the Wild. Time is running out.
After all, if the Wild are going to make the playoffs, they're going to have to pass either the Kings, Golden Knights or Predators. With the latter running away with the first wild-card spot, the Wild presumably will have to take the second spot (currently held by Vegas) from either the Kings or Golden Knights, who are both hoping to finish third in the Pacific. The Wild face the Kings one more time (April 15) and have two games left against Vegas (March 30 and April 12).
The Wild open a six-game homestand Saturday against the St. Louis Blues in what is another game with a little extra at stake. The problem is the Wild have struggled all season against Central teams with a 3-10-2 record against the Blues, Predators, Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche.
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