DENVER – For three seasons, the Wild has been a team that loves to make life difficult.
In games or in the standings, the Wild rarely makes things easy on itself. For evidence, look at the previous two seasons when a couple of miraculous second halves were needed to save the season. Or last week, when a blown victory in Ottawa and a lopsided defeat in New Jersey caused it to fall outside the playoff bubble.
Well, Saturday afternoon at the Pepsi Center, the Wild has quite the opportunity to make life so much simpler on itself these last few weeks of the regular season.
If the Wild can defeat a Colorado Avalanche team missing its two most dangerous players in regulation, it'll gain a five-point cushion for the eighth and final playoff spot with six games left. A regulation loss, and the Avs would inch to within one point with a game in hand.
The Wild's objective is to leave the Mile High City in the driver's seat toward a fourth consecutive playoff berth.
"That's what we're hoping to do, what we're planning to do," leading goal scorer Zach Parise. "It's a big game for both teams. For us, to widen that gap a little bit would be nice, get a little breathing room.
"We're looking forward to the game and to the challenge because they've been playing well lately and they're a tough team."
The Avs, who recently swept a three-game trip across western Canada, are desperate. They blew a late one-goal lead to lose to Philadelphia on Thursday and are without their two leading scorers, Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon, who have knee injuries.