It's strange to compare seasons in different sports, but we can't shake the feeling that we've seen this Minnesota Wild season before. Sure, it bears some similarity to last year's Wild campaign. But for the closest local comparison, we're tempted to leave hockey altogether and draw parallels to the 2003 Twins.

The 2003 Twins, like the 2014-15 Wild, were coming off their first taste of postseason success in a long time the previous year (the 2002 Twins upset the A's in the playoffs; the 2013-14 Wild upset the Avs in the playoffs).

The 2003 Twins started off the season in fine fashion, sitting at 38-27 and up five games in the AL Central through 65 contests. Roughly a third of the way into its season, the Wild was 15-10-1 — on pace for close to 100 points and a looking to be a good bet to make the postseason once again.

But then the 2003 Twins hit a terrible patch, going 6-22 in their final 28 games before the All-Star Break to sit at 44-49, 7.5 games back in the division. This year's Wild, too, stumbled into the All-Star break, winning just five of its final 20 games into the break (going 5-10-5) to fall far out of contention.

A key mid-year acquisition, though, jolted the 2003 Twins back to life. Shannon Stewart, acquired from Toronto, took over the leadoff spot and hit .322 with a .384 OBP the rest of the season for Minnesota. He was just one piece of the puzzle, but he helped everything fall into place. The Twins went 46-23 after the break and won the division easily.

For the Wild, that jolt seems to have come from goalie Devan Dubnyk. He's now 8-1 with a 1.49 GAA and a .940 save percentage since being acquired from Arizona. The Wild is a perfect 6-0 since the break, vaulting from buried in the standings to close to a 50-50 chance of making the postseason — while looking, again, like one of the best teams in the NHL.

Those 2003 Twins, of course, didn't make much noise in the playoffs — losing to the Yankees in four games, the start of a pattern of postseason futility against the Bronx Bombers. This year's Wild still has a hill to climb to get to the postseason. If it does, we wouldn't be surprised if that's where the Wild's path diverges from the 2003 Twins and Minnesota is able to advance again in the playoffs.