NBCSN’s coverage of the 2020-21 NHL season continues with Wednesday’s matchup between the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild. Blues-Wild stream coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.
The Wild end their regular season with a two-game road set in St. Louis. They enter this final matchup knowing they will face either the Golden Knights or Avalanche in the First Round of the playoffs. What they don’t know is if they’ll begin on the road or at Xcel Energy Center.
In the West Division, we still don’t know the opening round matchups. All the other three divisions are locked in, but there’s still some movement possible between Colorado, Vegas, and Minnesota. Should the Wild win out, there’s a chance they could nab the second spot. The division title (and Presidents’ Trophy) remains up for grabs between the Avs and Golden Knights.
The Wild is not focused on what lies ahead over the next week. They’re concerned with continuing this run of play that’s seen them win 11 of their last 14 games.
“There’s no sense worrying about outside distractions or what other teams are doing or where the standings are and all that,” said head coach Dean Evason. “We know we’re in the playoffs. They’re going to tell us where we play at the end of the season and who we play, and we’ll be ready.”
[BLUES-WILD COVERAGE BEGINS AT 8:30 P.M. ET - NBCSN]
Evason plans to play his regulars on Wednesday with Cam Talbot in goal. Depending on the outcome, he’ll see what sort of rest he’ll give his main group for their regular season finale on Thursday against the Blues.
“You want to go in with your group,” Evason said, “but yet there might be some people you might want to rest. The good thing for us is we just had two complete days off plus a practice day.”
Minnesota’s run has given them confidence that whoever their First Round opponent is, they know they can make some noise. They’re 5-1-2 against Vegas and 3-5-0 against Colorado this season and when there’s been a game to win, they’ve done so.
“We’re just worried about ourselves and being a consistent team and going into the playoffs playing good hockey,” said captain Jared Spurgeon.
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.