The Minnesota Wild will face off against the red-hot St. Louis Blues tonight on home ice in what will hopefully be a deeper playoff run than fans have seen in the past. They have home ice for the fourth time in franchise history and it could be the decision-maker between the two teams.
BADER'S TAKE:
The Minnesota Wild are coming off of a record-setting season with 113 points and 53 wins. They finished second in the Central Division and second in the Western Conference only behind the Juggernauts that is the Avalanche.
The Wild have shown all season that they have what it takes to get to the coveted, Lord Stanley Cup Final. Now the question is can they replicate it for 16 wins?
A giant lays in their way in the form of the St. Louis Blues, who have had the Wild's number all season long. Much like the Wild, the Blues are entering the playoffs playing their best hockey of the season.
The Blues finished with 109 points and 49 wins and are 7-2-1 in their final 10 games.
The Wild went 8-1-1 in their final ten games. The regulation loss was to the Coyotes and the overtime loss came from the hands of the Blues.
The Wild is the second-placed team in the West, they are playing the fourth-placed team in the West.
Does it make sense? No, not at all.
It is a shame that one of these teams will be bounced in the first round when they both deserve to make the second round.
However, one team will lose and one will advance.
Minnesota has the depth that every deep playoff team needs. They have two superstar lines that have been scoring at will all season. They have a big hitter line in the GREEF line, who make their presence known against opposing teams. They have a fourth line that is solid and can do it all.
They have top-four defensemen who can wreak havoc on the opposing teams' top lines.
They have two All-Star goaltenders in Talbot and Fluery.
This Wild team, on paper, looks scary good.
The Wild will advance only as far as their stars Kaprizov and Fiala can take them. Kaprizov and Fiala both had record-setting seasons. They are entering the playoffs on fire and should be feeling good about their game. However, Kaprizov and Fiala dried up last year in the postseason and couldn't get anything to go.
Too many times, the Wild's best players struggle in the playoffs and find themselves losing in the first round. If the Wild want to make a deep run, they need their two top lines scoring at will.
If they can keep their foot on the gas then the Blues could be in trouble.
A concern for the Wild is the injuries.
Marcus Foligno was injured in the final game of the season in what was a dirty knee-on-knee hit. He will play, albeit most likely he will be playing hurt. Mats Zuccarello missed the final games of the season with a lower-body injury and is also expected to play hurt.
Matt Dumba and Jared Spurgeon returned from injury in the final game of the season and they will need to remain healthy for the Wild to make a deep run.
All four of these guys are important players and the fact that they are most likely playing banged up should be a little concern for the Wild.
While the Wild lost all three games this season against the Blues, they never played at the Xcel Energy Center. Every game the Wild played versus the Blues, they were experiencing injuries.
The St. Louis Blues have never played the full roster of the Wild, nor have they played away at the X. I believe this gives the Wild a big edge when it comes to their confidence and their level of play.
The X has been an insane atmosphere all season long and I can only imagine what it'll be like for the postseason.
The Wild will walk away from games 1 and 2 with the 2-0 series lead.
The Blues will win game 3 and drop game 4 in overtime at home.
The Wild will win the series, 4-1 in game 5 at home.
This Minnesota Wild team has shown they are unlike any other Wild team.
However, with the massive success of the season comes massive pressure and expectations, anything less than a Conference Final would be a disappointment.
With the upcoming cap implications and unknown futures surrounding players like Fiala and Dumba, the time is now for the Wild.
Game 1: Monday, May 2nd @ 8:30 central
Game 2: Wednesday, May 3rd @ 8:30 central
Game 3: Friday, May 5th @ 8:30 central
Game 4: Sunday, May 7th @ 3:30 central
Game 5: TBD Minnesota
Game 6: TBD St. Louis
Game 7: TBD Minnesota
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