We'll find out during back-to-back games Thursday in Philadelphia and Friday in Washington, D.C., if this was indeed just a "bump in the road" like John Torchetti said (and hopes) or if the Wild, an oh-so fragile team the past six weeks, crumbles yet again.
Every team loses, but the Wild made losing a habit during a 2016 stretch of 16 of 19 losses that ultimately cost Mike Yeo his job.
Tonight, after four consecutive feel-good routs in western Canada and then the outdoor game, returned to the House of Horrors that is Xcel Energy Center. Maybe Target Center can build an ice sheet for the Wild the rest of the season.
The Wild has lost nine consecutive games in St. Paul since beating Detroit on Dec. 28. That win gave the Wild a 14-5-1 home record. The Wild's now 15-11-4 at home (the one win at TCF Bank Stadium), going 0-6-3 in its past nine.
Plain and simple: if the Wild doesn't start winning games on home ice, it's three-year playoff run will come to an end. This is getting ridiculous and is a big reason why Nashville, which has points now in seven straight, has expanded its lead for the top wildcard position to five points over the Wild. Minnesota remains two back of eighth-place Colorado with two games in a hand.
"I don't think it'll be anybody's surprise if we don't pick it up here at home that we probably won't make it," veteran Jarret Stoll said. "That's the honest truth. We've got to pick up our home record, our home game in front of our great fans. They're very, very loyal fans that have been around supporting this team forever. And we really, really appreciate that. We just have to play better in front of them. The road trip we had, we played great. We won all three games, played great, had confidence. There's no reason tonight after the outdoor game that we couldn't come out here and have a great effort. It's disappointing."
The Wild was horrific with the special teams tonight. The Wild went 0 for 5 on the power play against the Isles' top-ranked penalty kill, a PK more aggressive than any team I've seen. They challenge the pointmen bigtime and pound ya even when you have possession. Remember, this was a power play that had scored in 11 of the previous 13 games and was clicking at 24 percent in those games.
The Wild's passive PK gave up two goals on three shots. Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Carter and Stoll were on for both goals against. The Wild also gave up a shorthanded empty-netter.