We’re In! | Wild Wednesday
After Tuesday night’s insane overtime win against Anaheim, the Wild have officially clinched a playoff spot... and they get VEGAS! Wild fans have Joel Eriksson Ek to thank for tying the game with just 22 seconds left to force overtime, which secured them the one point needed to clinch a spot in this year’s playoffs.
And Matt Boldy, who scored the overtime winner with just 18 seconds left, is how the Wild secured the Vegas Golden Knights as their first-round opponent instead of the Winnipeg Jets. If Ek had not tied the game on Tuesday, the Wild’s fate would have been in Calgary’s hands as they are playing the LA Kings on Thursday and would have needed both points to knock the Wild out of the playoffs.
The Wild finished the season with 97 points (45-30-7) and the St. Louis Blues finished with 96 points (44-30-8). The Blues’ win on Tuesday night against the Utah Hockey Club is what secured their spot in the playoffs and eliminated Calgary from playoff contention. The Flames currently have 94 points (40-27-24) and while they still have one more game to play, the Blues have the tiebreaker of most regulation wins. The craziest part is that Calgary came back from a two-goal deficit in the third period against Vegas on Tuesday and they went on to win in a shootout. So, if the Wild had lost to the Ducks in regulation, the Wild would have been sweating out Calgary’s final game on Thursday that is completely meaningless for LA.
One Last Hurrah...
To make Tuesday’s game even more special, Marc-Andre Fleury came into the game during overtime to have one last chance to secure a regular-season win. The coolest part - it was all Gustavsson’s idea. Coach John Hynes said that Gus told him he wanted Fleury to have overtime and that it was shocking to hear, but he loved the idea.
“It was fun to go one more time out there,” Fleury said in an interview after the game. “And play the game that I love.”
The arena echoed with Fleury chants the entire overtime and off no warmup and immediately facing an Anaheim power play, Fleury stopped five shots, securing his 575th victory and 71st overtime win.
Just an unbelievable career for the future Hall of Famer and second winningest goaltender of all time. Three Stanley Cups, 1,051 total career games, four NHL teams and 76 shut outs. Hopefully Fleury will see some playoff action, but if not, there was truly no better way to close out the season and his career than how it did.
Buium Will Have to Wait...
There was a chance that defenseman Zeev Buium was going to see some ice time in the final regulation game, but he ultimately did not make the cut. Hynes said it was not an easy decision, and it was due to multiple factors. With Buium just finishing up the Frozen Four tournament, not having a full practice with the team and how important this final game was for the Wild, the timing did not feel right yet. The Wild losing to Calgary on Apr. 11 is what made this final game such high stakes and ultimately why Buium did not get to play.
Since he did not play in this final game, chances are he will not suit up for the first playoff game either, but that does not mean his debut is not right around the corner. With the regular season wrapped now, Buium will be able to get a few practices with the team under his belt and show the coaching staff that he is ready. Let’s just hope there’s more than four playoff games in store for the Wild...
Looking Forward...
The NHL playoffs are scheduled to begin on Saturday, Apr. 19 and like I mentioned earlier, the Wild will be facing the Golden Knights in the first round. The Wild have not won a first-round series since 2015 and currently have the longest streak of seven consecutive first-round exits in the league.
Now, if the Wild happen to have another first-round exit, that does not change the fact that this has been an incredible season, and it is a miracle the Wild even made the playoffs with the abundance of injuries they faced. According to Michael Russo, Kirill Kaprizov missed exactly half of the season, Ek missed 44% of the season, Jonas Brodin was out for 32 games, plus a long list of other injuries. None of us would have expected them to make the playoffs if we were told this would be the Wild’s reality all season long.
As we head into the playoffs, the Wild are 100% healthy, which has not happened since Nov. 11, so hopefully it remains that way... and let’s get ready for the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Kelly Rivard
Kelly is a Minnesota native and a proud Gopher alumna who enjoys making people laugh and spending time with family. Her skills include going 5/6 on parlays, managing multiple incredibly great (fantasy) sports teams and throwing 30 mph fastballs. When she’s not at the X, Target Field or US Bank Stadium cheering on her favorite teams, you can find her pouring drinks for customers at her hometown pub.
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