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Minnesota Wild: Home Ice Advantage Must Return

By Turner Olson

Apr 24, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild celebrate the goal by forward Jason Pominville (29) during the third period against the Dallas Stars in game six of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xcel Energy Center. The Stars win 5-4 over the Wild. Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 24, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild celebrate the goal by forward Jason Pominville (29) during the third period against the Dallas Stars in game six of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xcel Energy Center. The Stars win 5-4 over the Wild. Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports /
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Prior to last season, the Minnesota Wild enjoyed a huge home ice advantage at Xcel Energy Center. That was not the case last season and was one of the leading causes of a disappointing season for the team.

In the past three seasons, the Minnesota Wild have enjoyed major success at home. But last year the team did not display the same dominance in front of the hometown fans as it had in years past. It really was one of the chief reasons the season did not play out the way the franchise had hoped, and the team must find a way to pick up its play at home in order to have better results this upcoming season.

Since the end of the 2013-14 season, the Wild have had a disturbing trend of playing worse on their home ice. They went from 26 wins on home ice that year to 22 in 2014-15, then to 21 last season. While that does not sound like that much of a drop off, keep in mind that the NHL bases standings off of points, with a win being worth 2 points and an overtime or shootout loss worth one.

So strictly looking at the amount of points the Wild gained at home, the totals come out to 57 in 13-14, 50 in 14-15, and 46 points last season. That illustrates quite nicely what has happened to the team at home the past two seasons. Not surprisingly, that has corresponded with a sharp decline in overall points last season when compared to past seasons. The Wild went from finishing with 98 and 100 points to just 87 last season, and you can bet the drop in points gained at home was a big reason why.

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And that doesn’t even take into account what the team has done at home in the playoffs. In 2013-14, the team went 5-1 at home and in 2014-15 they went 2-1 at Xcel Energy Center prior to being swept in the second round. Both of those seasons saw the team advance to the second round of the NHL: playoffs. Contrast that with last year’s 1-2 mark and it becomes clear that in order for the Wild to be successful in the playoffs they must take care of home ice.

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This is a team that does not struggle to sellout, and the crowd is always engaged in the game. Numerous players, including the recently resigned Chris Stewart have said Minnesota fans are among the best in the league. With largely the same cast of players who enjoyed so much success on the Xcel Energy Center ice, the performance at home needs to be better.

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