Vegas could break Minnesota Wild's back over the next week
How big was Minnesota's 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings Wednesday night? Leaving that game with no points sets the stage for what could be a backbreaking week as the Wild play just once over the next six days while the team they're chasing, the Vegas Golden Knights, takes the ice four times.
Vegas hosts Seattle Thursday night and then gets the Columbus Blue Jackets at home Saturday night. They go to St. Louis in a pivotal game Monday and then stay on the road against Nashville on Tuesday.
The Wild host St. Louis on Saturday and then don't play again until next Thursday (San Jose at home).
Entering play Thursday, Minnesota has 76 points with 12 games to go. They're chasing Vegas for the final wild card spot. The Golden Knights have 79 points with 14 games remaining. Saint Louis is right behind the Wild with 75 points and 13 games left.
The worst-case scenario over the next week would be Vegas winning all four games and the Wild losing to the Blues in regulation. In that scenario, the Wild would go to bed next Tuesday night 11 points behind Vegas.
The best-case scenario has the Wild beating the Blues on Saturday and Vegas losing all four of its games in regulation. In that scenario, the Wild would go to bed next Tuesday night just one point behind Vegas.
It's entirely possible that Vegas doesn't play well in the next week. The Golden Knights have gone 5-10-1 since Feb. 8 when they were 31-15-6.
All the Wild can do is hope. What happens in the next week is almost entirely out of their control.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.