The Minnesota Wild waited until game 82 of 82 in their season to secure their spot in the postseason, but they made it happen with a win over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, April 15. This may not seem like a big feat, especially after they started the season as one of the top teams in the league, but then injuries struck, and they struggled to find that spark. They kept themselves in a postseason spot despite the issues, and although it took until the very end, they got in.
The battle to get in was just the start, as now they’ll face the Vegas Golden Knights in Round 1 of the 2025 postseason. Game 1 will be late evening on Easter Sunday, April 20. After having a month straight of games almost every other day, the Wild had their first longer break since February for the 4 Nations Face-Off. They needed the rest because they had just gotten their roster back in full, and a few extra days gave them time to rest and also time together to set their game plan.
The Wild have shown they have what it takes to be a top team in the league this season, and hopefully, now that they have a full roster once again, they can prove that in the postseason. However, to get wins, they’ll have to do several things, starting with playing their game.
Wild Have to Keep Their Style
What made the Wild so successful at the beginning of this season was that they stuck to what they were good at: keeping it simple and forcing their way to the net. This was especially true with Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek in their lineup. They are great goal scorers, but they need to keep it simple, especially when playing a team like the Golden Knights, who will be eager to jump on any mistakes the Wild make.
The biggest mistake that could cost the Wild is trying to make a move along the blue line. It’s great when it works, but it’s very dangerous when it doesn’t, and although they can trust their goaltender, Filip Gustavsson, that’s a lot of pressure to put on him if they cough it up on the blue line. Also, when they try to get too fancy, the other team figures out their plan and steals the puck. When they play simply and only use one or two passes, it’s harder for the opposition to react in time.
The Wild have some strong shooters on their team, and they need to trust in their abilities to get past the goaltender when they shoot. If they can do that, they have a better chance of scoring and getting past either Adin Hill or Ilya…
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