If the Minnesota Wild edge the Colorado Avalanche for the West’s second wild card spot, we might just look at Saturday afternoon as the day that cemented the difference.
The Wild continued their hot streak with a convincing 4-0 win against the Avalanche today, extending their winning run to five straight games.
In the process, Minnesota fattened its lead over Colorado to five standings points.
From a tiebreaker standpoint, the Avalanche hold more run-of-the-mill wins than the Wild (38 to 37) and most importantly hold a game in hand. Minnesota now equals Colorado with 34 regulation/OT wins.
Ultimately, the Wild really seem to have the Avalanche’s number, and that might be the difference between a playoff berth and early golfing outings.
#mnwild will be 17-3-4 in last 24 in Denver, 12-2-1 vs. #avs since Game 3 of 2014 playoffs. 8-1-1 last 10, 4-0-1 this season
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 26, 2016
Then again, maybe the coaching change was the real difference-maker?
The #MNWild are 14-6-1 under interim coach John Torchetti. They've won five straight games for the first time all season.
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) March 26, 2016
Either way, give Zach Parise a big chunk of the credit (two goals on Saturday, seven points during a three-game streak) and don’t forget Devan Dubnyk, whose shutout gives him five straight victories.
In other words, the Wild are getting big contributions during huge moments, and that might just punch their ticket to another playoff berth.