Wild clinch playoff spot, setting stage for intense finish

The Minnesota Wild are back in the playoffs after securing their 98th point of the season in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night. 

It was nearly a two-point night for the Wild, who led 3-2 with 35 seconds left in the third period when Pavel Dorofeyev scored after Vegas pulled the goalie for a man advantage. 

"We're going to play every game to get two points," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "That's what we're going to do. We're not focused on getting higher in the standings. We're focused on getting two points. We're going to talk about trying to stay as healthy as we possibly can when we get into the playoffs."

Dallas defeated Nashville 5-1, putting them and Minnesota in a tie atop the Central Division with 98 points. Colorado is two points behind with two games in hand. It sets the stage for what could be a fascinating final two weeks of the regular season. 

Key games this week

Thursday will be a big night with Minnesota at Pittsburgh, Dallas hosting Philadelphia and Colorado on the road against San Jose. Colorado is actually in San Jose for games Tuesday and Thursday this week – and if they win Tuesday night the Wild, Stars and Avalanche will be in a three-way tie entering play Thursday. 

That leads into Saturday as the Wild host St. Louis, Dallas is at home against Vegas and Colorado has a big road showdown against the Kings. 

With only five games left the Wild still have a shot, albeit slim, to catch Vegas (103 points) for the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference. According to Tankathon, Vegas has the fourth-hardest remaining schedule in the NHL compared to the Wild having the sixth-easiest schedule. 

If the playoffs started today, Minnesota would face Colorado in the first round of the playoffs.