For limping Wild, playoffs generate little excitement

Hey, have you heard? The Wild starts the NHL playoffs Thursday at Dallas.

That news is not a secret — more like a friendly reminder in case it slipped your mind.

Could there be any less excitement for a playoff appearance than a chorus of crickets chirping around the Wild's fourth consecutive postseason berth?

Hello, is this mike on?

A series of developments conspired to create an unmistakable sense of doom and gloom around the Wild in its series against Minnesota's previous NHL tenant.

As much as Wild players and coaches hate the term, the Wild "backed into" the playoffs as the No. 8 seed after losing five consecutive games to close the regular season. The team's 87 points were the fewest of any playoff team in the shootout era.

The Wild's best player, Zach Parise, could miss the postseason after suffering a significant back injury.

So besides all that …

"At the beginning of the year," defenseman Ryan Suter said, "if you would have asked if we could be in this situation, every one of us would have said yes."

Well, maybe not this exact situation, facing this set of circumstances. But the Wild is still playing, which certainly beats the alternative.

Only seven NHL teams are making their fourth consecutive playoff appearance — the Wild being one of them — an accomplishment that shouldn't be poo-pooed. This entry, though, feels different from the previous three in terms of anticipation and expectation.

The 2013 playoffs rekindled hope, even in a 4-1 series loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, because it marked the first of the Parise-Ryan Suter era, a perceived steppingstone to something larger.

The narrative changed last spring after a sweep by the Blackhawks in the second round, raising concerns about whether the Wild can emerge as a postseason threat.

The mood surrounding this appearance seems to be one of resignation given the team's cockeyed regular season and now the injury to Parise.

ESPN.com asked a panel of 10 experts to pick winners for each first-round series. All 10 picked the Stars; only three predicted the series would last more than five games. At least one panelist predicted every other series to go the distance.

All of that means diddly squat, especially since NHL playoffs are unpredictable because of the importance of goalies and the randomness of goal scoring.

Upsets happen all the time. As the beat writer during the Wild's 2003 postseason run, I learned a valuable lesson about assuming any scenario in postseason hockey.

Interim coach John Torchetti bristled at the notion his team backed into the postseason. Parise complained media members were being too "negative" as the team floundered down the stretch.

The Wild has an opportunity to change the tone, to prove predictions wrong, to bathe in a "no respect" angle.

"We know that we can challenge any team in this league when we're on top of our game," captain Mikko Koivu said.

That remains an important distinction — when they're on top of their game. Uneasiness about the Wild stems from maddening inconsistency.

In truth, the Wild can be just about anything. Good enough to defeat the Blackhawks five times during the regular season, vulnerable enough to limp into the playoffs.

"Whatever happened last week or three months ago doesn't matter," Koivu said.

Playoffs offer a chance to reset. The Wild should approach it that way. Players should come loose and relaxed because few outside their locker room expect them to win.

Win a game in Dallas, give fans reason to believe, and this town will catch playoff fever again.