The Wild have not been good against some of the Central Division teams this year and that could be why they miss the playoffs if they do.
The Wild are 3-10-2 against the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, and the Winnipeg Jets this season.
Other than the Blues, every one of those teams are in front of the Wild. Their ability to not pick up wins or points against the teams in front of them has been a big reason why this team is where they are.
Regardless of their 12-4-3 record since February 1st, they are 1-3-2 against those five teams listed above. Every one of those teams they are chasing in the division and they only won one game. Which was an overtime win against the Predators after Wild head coach John Hynes pulled the goalie in overtime.
The Blues haven't been playing their best hockey as of late, so last night felt like another opportunity for the Wild to come out and pick up two huge points. Instead, they found themselves down 2-0 in the third period but did find a way to force overtime and then a shootout.
"That was a team that was very beatable, and we didn't play to our standards," Marcus Foligno told the reporters last night. "We had a good comeback. It's nice to get a point but we need 2."
A win by the Wild would have had them within two points of the Vegas Golden Knights and four behind the Los Angeles Kings. The Wild play the Kings on Wednesday and the Knights the following weekend. They also get another chance at the Blues on Saturday.
"Moving forward every game feels like do or die," Foligno said. "It's how we've got to treat it. These playoff teams that are ahead of us are very important games."
If the Wild don't go 4-0-1 in their next five games it seems like their chances of making the playoffs will continue to fall. After those five games they get to play the Jets once, the Avalanche twice, and both the Knights and Kings again.
Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' Minnesota Wild page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.