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 Samsonov.
Wild Need Their Special Teams
It’s something you’ll hear from every NHL team in the postseason: they need their special teams to be better, and that’s exactly what the Wild need. They’ve shown flashes of strength all season on the penalty kill and the power play, but they’ve also shown great struggles. Everyone remembers the playoff series against the Dallas Stars back in 2023 and how it seemed like every time the Wild took a penalty, the Stars scored. They knew their penalty kill was struggling to stop the puck, and yet they continued to take penalties, reckless penalties, and that’s something that can’t happen again.
The Wild’s penalty kill this season has been much better than that, but there were times when it felt like it was all going to go downhill. Towards the end of the season, they found a rhythm that worked, involving putting players like Marcus Foligno, Gustav Nyquist, and Matt Boldy on the penalty kill, which was effective. However, in the postseason, they may have to be a little careful on where they’re putting Boldy because they also want him on the power play.
Speaking of the power play, the Wild have to find ways to score as often as they can when they get the man advantage. Of course, that sounds like an obvious game plan, but it’s easier said than done. If the Wild want to get past the Golden Knights, they need to use their power play because 5-on-5 will be hard to score on. If the Wild can get their power play going, that will help them succeed against the Golden Knights.
Wild Need to Win Faceoffs
This goes for all areas of their game, including special teams; they have to figure out how to win faceoffs. Losing faceoffs was one of the reasons their special teams struggled, because they would lose possession immediately and struggle to regain it. This was worse on the penalty kill because when they lost the faceoff, it went straight to the point, and the shot went right past their defense and goaltender.
If they can win faceoffs on their penalty kill, they can make sure the puck leaves the zone quickly and effectively. On the power play, winning a faceoff can mean the difference between having a scoring chance or wasting all of their man advantage trying to get the puck back. This has been an area the Wild have struggled with season after season, but hopefully, now that they have their top center back in the lineup, they’ll start to win more faceoffs.
Wild Can Win
The Wild have the tools to beat the Golden Knights in this series, as they’ve proven they can play at that level before. Also, as many have pointed out including my Golden Knights colleague at The Hockey Writers, Cooper Krigbaum, the Wild have been playing playoff style hockey for the past month as they’ve had to fight tooth and nail to get in while the Golden Knights didn’t have it easy but also didn’t have to push as hard at the end.
Related: Minnesota Wild Need the “Beef” Line in the Playoffs
That kind of mentality can make a difference when it comes to the postseason; it’s as much of a mental game as it is a physical game. The Wild have had to battle mentally and physically this season, and hopefully that will be on their side as they aim to take down the Golden Knights and advance to Round 2. However, it’s essential to take it one game at a time, starting with Game 1.
