The Wild have gone 17-2-2 since Nov. 7, but Colorado and Dallas haven’t blinked. Sunday is where a dominant stretch finally meets the Central Division math.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild (22-9-5) has been nearly flawless for six weeks. Since Nov. 7, they’re 17-2-2, rolling through opponents with structure, patience, and consistency.
And yet, when they look up at the standings, nothing has moved.
The Colorado Avalanche (25-2-7) keep winning and the Dallas Stars (24-7-5) keep winning. The gap hasn’t closed. That’s why Sunday’s matchup isn’t just another Central Division game, it’s a pressure point.
Minnesota already knows what it takes to beat Colorado.
The Wild ended the Avalanche’s 10-game winning streak the last time these teams met, grinding out a shootout win that felt like a measuring stick game.
Colorado played the next day and scored nine goals in a game. Safe to say the Wild made them mad.
This upcoming game carries a different weight. The Wild are playing their best hockey of the season. Colorado hasn’t blinked. And the Dallas Stars sit in first place after going 17-3-2 in that same span, leaving no margin for error in the Central.
"Yeah, no, of course. Yeah, those games we want to win, you know, against those teams," Jonas Brodin said after Saturday's game. "I think Colorado, what do they have like, two losses now in full time, so it would be nice to get a win tomorrow. They’re a great team. And so we're looking forward to that tomorrow. So it's…yeah, that's the games you want to win for sure."
The three best teams in the league right now all sit in the same division and neither team has gained any ground over this insane stretch.
That’s what makes Sunday’s matchup with the Avs feel enormous. Minnesota has done almost everything right for nearly two months and hasn’t gained a single point on Colorado in that span.
The Avalanche have matched them nearly stride for stride, going 17-1-2 over the same stretch, while the Stars have surged into first place at 17-3-2. There’s no cushion. No margin. No reward yet for how well the Wild have played.
"Yeah, they're fun," Matt Boldy said Saturday night on playing elite teams. "That team tonight [Edmonton] and Colorado tomorrow are some of the best teams. So for us to have that matchup in a back-to-back, it tests your team and your will and everything like that. So we did our job tonight, and we got to kind of get our rest and get ready to go for tomorrow.
Minnesota isn't treating it like a must-win. They don’t have to. Their game doesn’t work that way. But everyone in the room understands what tonight represents. A measuring stick. A chance to follow up a statement with another one. And maybe, finally, a night where playing this well starts to move the standings instead of just filling the win column.
"A good weekend for us so far, and we want to continue that," Ryan Hartman said on Saturday. "Obviously they’ve been winning a lot and so have we, and we have a chance to kind of gain some ground."
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