Let’s Go! Minnesota Wild Carry Heavy but Realistic Playoff Expectations
The Minnesota Wild have eight regular season games left after Saturday before they officially punch their postseason ticket and secure final seeding for the playoffs. With five of the games on the schedule being games that they should win, the Wild have all but locked up entry to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In a little over two weeks the games begin. For the first time in team history the Wild have heavy (and realistic!) expectations entering the playoffs. It seems that the roster tweaks made at the trade deadline are what the Wild need to get over the hump (get out of the first round and make the first appearance in franchise history to the Stanley Cup Final).
I, like most Wild fans, have all of the confidence in the world in general manager Bill Guerin and truly believe that this team will make a deep postseason run.
I am ready to see this team in a seven-game series. I feel as impatient as Tom Brady in a Hertz commercial. Let’s go!
This year’s team is comprised of many players either putting up career-best numbers, just entering their prime, or finally living up to expectations. Teams that are in this position usually have that “special” feel to them. This team is special. They remind me of the 2007 Colorado Rockies baseball team.
There is no doubt that the Wild are feeling the pressure to deliver now and some players are expected to shoulder more of the responsibility than others. Each member of the team has a significant role and will be counted on to do their job if the Wild are going to advance out of the first round and make some noise.
Here are five players whose impact could determine the fate of the club as we enter the playoffs.
5. Marcus Foligno
Arguably the most popular player on the team and true fan favorite. The grit, tenacity, and toughness that Foligno has on the ice often sets the tone in most games. When things get tough or the other team gets fussy, everybody looks to Foligno. When we enter a best-of-seven series, the games are different.
The physicality and mental edge becomes the X-factor. Foligno has a knack for scoring big goals, and delivering big hits.
Foligno is having a career year with 21 goals, 16 assists, 37 points, 112 penalty minutes and a plus-22 rating. The quintessential power forward. The team will need his scoring and physicality as the matchups become increasingly violent and the games tighten up.
What Foligno brings to the table is what wins series, and his skill set and presence will send a message to opposing teams in these upcoming games. Wear that ‘A’ proudly.
4. Ryan Hartman
Speak of players having career years and the first name that should come up is forward Ryan Hartman. From early on in the season Hartman was asked to step out of his comfort zone and switch positions from right wing to center. This speaks to the true lack of depth at this position.
A true “number one” center is a player that can dominate both ends of the ice, win face-offs, set up their teammates, run the offense, and make creative plays that lead to their team scoring. Ryan Hartman was a third or fourth line winger during his time on the Wild. He was a grinder and was very good in that role, which is why his contract was extended. Oh, and he is still listed at right wing on NHL.com.
Since centering the first scoring line, Hartman has responded beyond anybody’s realistic expectations. He currently is second on the team in goals with 29, and is setting career high in other categories including both assists (27) and points (56). His two-way play and toughness has been equally impressive. The only knock on Hartman is his ability in the face-off circle.
Again, he has not really been an NHL center. Are his number this good because he centers Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello? Maybe. But this top line has been amazing. If the Wild are going to go far this postseason they are going to need secondary scoring from Hartman and the grit and toughness that he naturally brings to the table. Oh, and that nasty streak he has (ask Evander Kane how he feels) is a bonus.
3. Jared Spurgeon
The captain has been solid this entire year, while he has been on the ice. Spurgeon is a true No. 1 defensemen and the team will need his clever method of exiting the zone, ability to shut down the opposition’s top line, and his speed joining in the rush if they hope to go anywhere in the playoffs. Understandably, fans were upset when I suggested moving on from Spurgeon in the offseason (yes I wrote that, think long term salary) and his stock will NEVER be higher than it is now.
For now, the team will need everything great about Spurgeon that earned his team-friendly contract. If not for injuries this year he most likely would have put up career best offensive numbers (In 2018 he scored 14-29-43 in 82 games). He currently has gone 7-29-36. Not too shabby.
He is a true difference maker and if you look at his analytics (sorry, reading analytics is boring stuff) there is not much of an argument to be made that the team will need him at his very best if they want to win it all. Spurgeon wears the ‘C’ and the team will look to their captain to lead the way.
(No, I do not hate Jared Spurgeon, quite the opposite).
2. Marc-André Fleury/Cam Talbot
The Wild made the biggest trade deadline move in franchise history this year in acquiring goaltender Marc-André Fleury from the Chicago Blackhawks. The move signaled a need to strengthen the goaltending and officially go all in on a Cup run. Since joining the Wild, both Marc-André Fleury and Cam Talbot have been sensational.
Fleury has gone 5-1-0, with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage since joining the team. His acquisition has given this team some much needed playoff swagger. Nobody has shown that more than his teammate, Talbot.
Going into the trade deadline, Talbot looked like a shell of the All-Star goalie that dominated many games, and who had been consistently solid this season. Both he and Kaapo Kahkonen struggled heavily and Guerin made the move to go and get Fleury.
After Flower joined the team Talbot has gone 5-0-2, with 1 shutout, a 1.97 goals-against average, and a .936 save percentage.
The team has shored up the goaltending issues that has plagued the team. Playoffs are all about toughness and goaltending. As mentioned in previous articles, there is not a team in Stanley Cup history that has won a Cup without a No. 1 center and elite goaltending. The Wild will need these two to be elite if they hope to host a Stanley Cup parade.
1. Kirill Kaprizov
The best player to ever pull on a Wild sweater will need to continue to be the best player on the ice every game if Minnesota is going to win it all. Kaprizov has been by and large the best player in the league this season. His 42 goals are good for 5th in the league, and his 91 points put him 7th in the league in scoring.
What is even more impressive is the fact that he is getting more and more physical as the season goes on. This kid can do it all.
Kaprizov has rewritten the single season record book for the Wild and will continue to do so for the rest of his career. He has been everything. As good as advertised and should win the MVP this season.
Going into the playoffs, the Wild will need Kaprizov to be even better. Kaprizov will need to channel his inner Pavel Bure or Alex Ovechkin and consistently score huge goals. Is that too much to ask of him? Absolutely not, as he has done that all season long.
Deliver when the team needs him most. He is ridiculously clutch and is as good as any player in the league. This is now Kirill’s team (see the t-shirts in the locker room), and the stage is set for him to deliver us a Cup.
The Wild will go as far as Kaprizov takes them.
Let’s go!