That time of the hockey season is here, when no matter the opponent, the Wild’s next game is its most important contest of the year, and every subsequent game after that is even more critical.
Minnesota is down to just nine games remaining on its regular season schedule, and it enters tonight’s matchup with the Western-Conference-leading Nashville Predators holding a precarious two-point advantage over Colorado for third place in the Central. Regardless of playoff matchups, I still believe that for a myriad of reasons, the Wild wants to remain in that third position when the dust settles in two weeks.