Minnesota Wild: Top 3 reasons they can surprise in postseason

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Minnesota Wild, Ryan Suter #20 (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Could the Minnesota Wild be a dark horse Stanley Cup contender?

The NHL will be having an expanded postseason to help make up for the fact that they couldn’t finish the regular season. There will be 24 teams because there were several teams that were very close to having a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with more than 10 games to go. One of those teams is the Minnesota Wild.

With 68 games played, the Wild entered the season’s hiatus just one point out of the second wild card spot. In a traditional setting, this would leave them just out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But nothing about the 24 team format is traditional. The 24 team format will give the Wild the chance to make some noise in the playoffs.

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Unless the format changes (which possible), the Wild will be playing the seventh-seed Vancouver Canucks. It will most likely be in a best of five series, but that’s not set in stone yet. There’s still a lot of work to be done before the postseason can safely start, but it’s quite likely it will happen.

If the Stanley Cup Playoffs occur, the Wild could be a dark horse Stanley Cup contender. Here’s why they have what it takes to surprise some teams.

1. The Wild Are Actually Good

No matter which metrics you look at, the Wild are a surprisingly strong team. Since New Year’s Day, they have one of the top 10 records in the NHL. Meanwhile, the Canucks have the 19th-best record.

New Year’s Day has been a bit of a turning point for the Wild. They also have the 10th best CorsiFor%, sixth-best 5v5 GoalsFor%, and third-best 5v5 Expected GoalsFor% since the start of 2020.

Also, the Wild have a strong record against the Canucks, winning two of their three games against them this season. The Canucks are a good team, but the Wild have been playing excellent hockey in 2020. If they can keep the momentum going, they have a shot at going far in the postseason.

Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

2. Their Path Is Relatively Easy

The Minnesota Wild will have a relatively easy path to the Western Conference Final. It won’t be easy for them, but it’s certainly possible they could get there. The Canucks are a very good team, but they’re a beatable team. Minnesota has a more experienced team, which might give them the edge they need in a five-game series.

If the Wild beat the Canucks, they’ll draw a very tough opponent in the next round against (most likely) the Colorado Avalanche. However, Minnesota did manage to split the season series against the Avalanche, winning two of their four games against them. They also played them very tough in early February, though they lost 3-2.

The Avalanche will be a very tough team for the Wild to beat. But if they can upset them (or whoever the second seed winds up being), they’ll probably be the toughest team the Wild will face.

Also, it’s worth noting the Wild will probably have an advantage over the second-seed, who will be coming off a bye. The second seed will have to start fighting for their playoff lives. Meanwhile, the Wild will already be in playoff mode. That could give them an advantage.

Minnesota Wild, Alex Stalock #32 (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

3. Their Secret Weapon

In the past, the Minnesota Wild have been cursed by untimely goaltending. Devan Dubnyk has done very well in the regular season, but traditionally, hasn’t done nearly as well in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Dubnyk will likely start the postseason as the starting goalie. But this season, the Wild have a very strong Plan B in Alex Stalock.

Stalock has been a huge reason for the Wild’s success since the start of 2020. Among goalies with at least 15 appearances (there are 31 of them), Stalock has a .920% save percentage, which is the ninth-best mark in the NHL. Furthermore, his 2.32 GAA is the fifth-lowest in the league. The Wild have a great defense and make Stalock’s job relatively easy. All he has to do is make the saves he is expected to make.

In 18 appearances in 2020, Stalock has 11 wins, five regulation losses, and two overtime losses. To win the Stanley Cup, you need a hot goalie. Stalock could be the guy who takes the Wild further than anyone expected.

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He’ll have a strong supporting cast helping him out too. Kevin Fiala has an eye-popping 30 points in 28 games since New Year’s Day. Zach Parise, when healthy, has been steady as usual. Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon are both studs on defense.

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