Bruce Boudreau was irked that only one member of an nhl.com panel predicted the Wild will make the playoffs this season.
The website released the picks of 18 contributors Sunday. The only one to include the Wild was staff writer Tom Gulitti, who predicted the Wild would be the second Western Conference wild-card team.
"I use it for motivation,'' Boudreau said. "I don't know if the players really care what they think. I've always been a guy that if you tell me I can't do something, I want to do it.''
![Minnesota Wild Zach Parise (11). ] CARLOS GONZALEZ ï cgonzalez@startribune.com - January 2, 2018, St. Paul, MN, Xcel Energy Center, NHL, Hockey, Minnesota Wild vs. Florida Panthers](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/LDYRHIX7PKP4CIMVQJCL4ZYRTQ.jpg?&w=252&ar=3:2&fit=crop)
