Wild’s Playoff Hopes Alive After Earning Points in Last 5 Games
The Minnesota Wild have suddenly found themselves back in the playoff race after registering a 4-0-1 record in their last five contests. Leading up to the trade deadline, it seemed they were all but out of the postseason race. But the club now sits just six points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the final Western Conference wild card spot.
However, the Wild have to find ways to earn points — whether in regulation or by pushing games into overtime — if they expect to squeeze into the postseason. The club has clearly shown they are serious about making a playoff push, but they will need to rely heavily on their top line and solid goaltending from here on out. With Vegas and the Nashville Predators getting personnel upgrades at the deadline, it’s going to be very difficult to overtake them in the standings.
It was a must-win game for Minnesota.
Hynes made a coaching decision that had not yet been done in the NHL. He pulled Marc-Andre Fleury, giving the Wild a four-on-three advantage. After Minnesota established themselves in the offensive zone, Mats Zuccarello made a deceptive pass to Matt Boldy on the weak side and one-timed it for the game-winning goal. The puck was perfectly placed, just a foot off the ice, glove side.
What made this play so spectacular is that had the Wild been scored on after pulling Fleury, they wouldn’t have gotten the point for making it into overtime. The rule has been so seldom applied in the NHL that many professional players were not even aware of the rule. When Boldy was asked after the game if he knew about the rule, he replied: “No, I did not know that. Good thing we scored. (from ‘Inside the Wild’s ‘gutsy’ OT goalie pull that risked a point under a rule players didn’t even know,’ The Athletic, 03/10/2024)”
Hynes commented about the decision after the game, noting it’s not something that should be done without a good reason. “But I think in our position, we want to be aggressive, we want to get two points. We believe in our group and want to continue to fight to play meaningful games down the stretch and let the chips fall where they may. So I think in the situation we’re in, one point, no point, it’s not going to do us any good. We’ve got to get two points.”
