If there was such a thing as a soft schedule in the NHL, the Minnesota Wild sure as heck found it.
After defeating the Chicago Blackhawks and the Ottawa Senators — a seven-win and 14-win team, respectively— the Wild have the opportunity to carve through the gooey soft middle of their schedule and forge toward a solid playoff position with the trade deadline around the corner. After thoroughly outclassing their lesser opponents in recent matchups, the Wild find themselves against a familiar foe in the Anaheim Ducks.
A team caught in the middle of building a roster of exciting young talent and kowtowing to the demands of established veterans like John Gibson, the Ducks are neither exciting nor competitive outside the near video game-like antics of Trevor Zegras.