Written By Chris Schad
In Minnesota, the term “playoff run” is a foreign word. Since the dawn of the decade, only the 2010 Minnesota Twins, the 2012 Vikings and the last three Wild teams have made the playoffs of their respective sports. Of those five teams, only one, last year’s Wild squad, was able to make it past the first round — and that took all seven games to accomplish!
That might explain why the state flocked to the Wild in last year’s Western Conference semi-finals a year ago, but that’s irrelevant as the team tries to make a deeper run in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Like any year in the Central Division, the competition was fierce to get a playoff spot. Five teams (Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis, Minnesota and Winnipeg) were separated by 10 points just to get into the most wide open playoff system in sports, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see any of them catch fire and wind up competing for the cup.
For the Wild, that quest begins Thursday night as they’ll face the St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. The Blues were able to conquer the mighty Central Division and are a formidable foe for the white-hot Wild.
DEPTH
Both teams have tremendous depth that can help get the job done. The Blues ranked fifth in the league in goals allowed and have a young nucleus that’s only going to get better. Vladimir Tarasenko (37 goals) and Jaden Schwartz (28) were at the top of the list here, but scoring depth exists in all four lines as the Wild are just as likely to get beat by last year’s playoff demon Paul Stastny or former Warroad star T.J. Oshie.
The Wild are looking good themselves when it comes to depth as their hot streak not only allowed them to climb back into the playoffs, but let them make several additions as well. Zach Parise is obviously the heartbeat of the team, but the lower lines have stepped up, too, as Chris Stewart has brought a physical presence, and the return of Jason Zucker has given opposing teams just one more weapon to worry about.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Special teams also play a part in determining a series, and this one could come down to the Wild’s penalty kill against the Blues power play.
The Blues were able to convert 22.3 percent of the time with the extra man (4th in the NHL), but the Wild lead the league in killing off penalties with a 86.3 percent kill rate. To help matters, Minnesota doesn’t give opposing teams opportunities on the power play to begin with as 234 opportunities was the eighth-least amount in the league.
If St. Louis doesn’t go on the power play, they can’t hurt the Wild. If the Wild pack the box like peanuts, there’s going to be an uphill climb.
Conversely, the Wild have struggled all season long on the power play. Their early season struggles continued throughout the year, and the addition of Thomas Vanek didn’t provide the spark they were originally thinking. With a power play good for 27th (15.85%), Minnesota needs to make the most of their opportunities against a St. Louis penalty kill that ranked eighth (83.66%) during the course of the year.
GOALTENDING
On the first page of “Playoff Hockey for Dummies,” there would probably be a section on having a hot goaltender. It seems like every year a lower seed plays out of their mind, there’s a goalie with them that’s spinning on his head and mimicking the tactics of a brick wall.
The Wild have had that luxury after adding Devan Dubnyk in January. With a 27-9-2 record and 1.72 goals against average, “Doobs” has not only resurrected the Wild’s playoff push, but put him squarely in the Hart Trophy discussion. The only issue here is that he has yet to start a playoff game, and he’ll have his first two adventures on the road in St. Louis.
Fortunately, this is where the Blues lack experience as well. Jake Allen will make his first career playoff start on Thursday, and if he falters, Ken Hitchcock will have to fall back on Brian Elliott’s 6-10 postseason record.
HOW THE WILD CAN WIN
With all of these factors, you have to consider how the Wild have gotten themselves into the playoffs. They’ve been tremendous in the third period all season long, and Dubnyk’s goaltending has kept them into games for that to happen.
If the Blues come out and destroy Dubnyk like they did on Saturday (three goals on 14 shots), the Wild will have a hard time climbing back into it. If Minnesota can keep it close or take an early lead, they’ll be in great position to win games and possibly the series.