Minnesota did not get the assist it needed from the Anaheim Ducks or St. Louis Blues to clinch a playoff spot on the Wild’s day off on Wednesday.
Instead, the Wild will have a chance to take matters into their own hands Thursday night.
Minnesota can punch a ticket to the postseason when it faces the Vancouver Canucks in Saint Paul, Minn. The Wild (41-21-12, 94 points) are on the cusp of reaching the playoffs for the second season in a row and the sixth time in the past seven years.
For a while Wednesday, it appeared as if the Wild would clinch a playoff spot without needing to wait for their next game. They could have clinched if Anaheim had defeated the San Jose Sharks in regulation or if St. Louis had beaten the Los Angeles Kings in any fashion, but neither team delivered.
Wild coach John Hynes said he isn’t too worried about how other teams are performing. He is focused on his own team, which has endured a recent slump with a 3-5-1 record in its past nine games.
Hynes said a four-day break between games arrived at a perfect time.
“We had a couple good meetings, and now it gets back into game mode,” Hynes said. “I think, from a practice perspective, it was certainly worth it just to get some things worked on that we wanted to button up. (We worked on) timing, pace, a little bit of competition, a lot of touches with puck pressure. Hopefully our execution can be sharp.”
The Wild will face Vancouver (22-44-8, 52 points), which is playing on short rest after a dizzying 8-6 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. The victory snapped a six-game losing streak for Vancouver, which has been eliminated from the playoff race and is focusing on the future.
Minnesota native Brock Boeser recorded a hat trick for the Canucks against Colorado.
“We can’t enjoy it long,” Boeser said with a chuckle. “We’ve got another tough test (Thursday). But it obviously just speaks to the guys.
“We’ve been talking about playing more aggressive and competing harder, and I think we’ve done that better the last two games, so we’ve got to do it (Thursday).”
Nikita Tolopilo likely will get the start in net for Vancouver on Thursday, one night after Kevin Lankinen squared off against the Avalanche. Tolopilo is 5-7-2 with a 3.53 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage in 16 games this season. He made 28 saves in a 4-2 win on Dec. 6 in his only career meeting vs. the Wild.
Minnesota will counter with Filip Gustavsson in net. He is 26-13-6 with a 2.57 GAA and a .908 save percentage in 46 games on the season, and he is 6-3-1 with a 2.45 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 11 career appearances against the Canucks.
Wild defenseman Brock Faber said he and his teammates are eager to snap out of their slump as the playoffs approach.
“Obviously, this is a stretch where, yeah, things aren’t going our way,” Faber said. “But we’re also not playing quite as good as we’re capable (of playing). That’s part of it.
“(We’re) just trying to get ‘clinched’ next to our name and from there build our way to real playoff-like style hockey.”
