Minnesota Wild: Regular Season Success is Progress

After their franchise record 12 game winning streak finally came to an end against the Blue Jackets, here’s a look at where the Wild stack up in the Western Conference.

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First, it has become clear over the past couple of years, and the trend seems to continue this year, that the Central Division is the best division in the Western Conference. Last year the division sent five teams to the playoffs.

The Minnesota Wild had the lowest point total of the five teams from their division to qualify for the playoffs. Ahead of them were the Stars, Blues, Blackhawks, and Predators. This year however, the Wild find themselves in second place, not only in their division, but in the Western Conference. And they have games in hand on the Blackhawks, this team is very much in contention for the top seed in the conference.

This is an important step for this franchise to take. Yes, they have the playoffs each of the past four years, however during that time they have also failed to make a single appearance in the Conference Finals. How does postseason success happen?

Jan 5, 2017; San Jose, CA, USA; Minnesota Wild players celebrate a scored goal against the San Jose Sharks during the third period of the game at SAP Center at San Jose. The Minnesota Wild defeated the San Jose Sharks with a score of 5-4. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports /

Well it starts with winning in the regular season, as the Wild has been a wild card the last four years. Obviously it makes it harder to advance when you are playing the best teams right away in the playoffs, and that will go a long way towards playoff success. But the other factor here, is this Is a team that thrives at home and finally getting a decent seed (or a top seed) will allow this team to have home ice advantage in the series, which seems to be something this team thrives off of.

Right now, people will say that it does not matter what this team does until the playoffs roll around. But they are wrong, this is a team that has just barely got in to the playoffs the last four years. This year they might not only win the division, but also have a chance to be the top seed in the entire conference.

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Regardless of what happens in the playoffs, if Boudreau is able to change the regular season performance of this team it will be beneficial. After all, we are talking about a franchise with one division title in its existence. Especially in the Central division, that would go a long way towards the Wild earning the respect they deserve as one of the top teams in the league.

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