The Minnesota Wild have officially been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with four games left on the schedule after suffering a 5-2 loss to Nathan McKinnon (a hat trick and four-point performance) and the Colorado Avalanche inside Ball Arena on Tuesday.
The Wild — 3-5-1 in their past eight games since March 20 — are missing the playoffs for just the second time since 2011-12 with their four-year postseason streak ending in Tuesday's loss.
The Wild played some of their best hockey of the season coming out of the All-Star break and bye week, going 13-4-3 in their first 20 games from Feb. 7 to March 19. But they failed to make up significant ground in the Western Conference wild-card race as teams above them were winning, too.
There are many reasons why the Wild are missing the playoffs this season and some factors they could control and some they couldn't.
The Wild faced a countless number of injuries this season, which included losing their captain and top defenseman Jared Spurgeon to season-ending injuries. Their damaging start that costed Dean Evason his job didn't help matters, either. Then the fact that the Wild couldn't make up any significant ground in the playoff race out of the All-Star break as teams in front of them continued to win, too, made the postseason a pipe dream.
But even when the Wild did crawl back and get within reaching distance, they failed to win big games that could propel them closer. Case in point: The Wild won just eight of 29 games against the nine teams that are ahead of them right now in the Western Conference.
Furthermore, the Wild finished the season with a combined 0-10-1 record against the Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets. And the Wild went 1-2-1 versus the St. Louis Blues, which included three losses in March.
While the Wild are missing the playoffs for just the second time since 2011-12, there are reasons to believe that this season will be an outlier and that Minnesota can return to the postseason in the 2024-25 campaign.
The Wild continue their five-game road trip versus the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday and the San Jose Sharks on Friday before wrapping up the trip against the L.A. Kings next Monday. The Wild finish their season at home against the Seattle Kraken on April 18.
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