Forget momentum; Wild-Blues is a series of swings

Jordan Leopold stopped short of taking his fingers and making air quotes, but the Wild defenseman left no ambiguity about his thoughts on a certain subject.

"We have so-called momentum," he said.

Ah, yes, momentum, an overbaked term in our sports vernacular that attempts to predict positive results by a team at a particular time. We hear it all the time. Team X won a critical game and has momentum so watch out!

Or, as the Wild-Blues series has shown, momentum in sports can mean absolutely nothing at all, a nebulous concept with a small shelf life.

By my count, the Wild has seized "so-called momentum" three different times. The Blues have had momentum twice. Each one lasted until the next game, or roughly 48 hours.

What's the opposite of momentum?

"There's swings," Leopold said.

We'd suggest that the Wild has momentum after a strong Game 5 performance on the road, but that statement probably would fly back like a boomerang and smack us in the head.

Wild coach Mike Yeo, for one, dismissed the idea of momentum as a valid discussion.

"I don't believe in it in a playoff series," he said. "I don't think it carries from one game to the next. Not against good teams. Not against a team like we're facing. Both teams have proved that they have been able to collect themselves."

That bounce-back tendency has made this series impossible to figure out. Just when you think you've got a read on it and declare that one team has the edge, or momentum, the exact opposite happens. It's been zigzag hockey.

Neither team has won consecutive games. The road team has won three times.

The past four games have been decided by three or more goals. Many of us predicted a series filled with overtimes and tense finishes. Instead, the teams have taken turns feeling euphoric and wondering if the sky is falling.

The headline for the series should read: "Assume nothing."

"I look back after Game 3 how we felt, that we were just going to storm through the rest of the playoffs with that great game we played," Zach Parise said. "And the whole thing turned around and you felt like everything was about to collapse."

The discrepancy in performances from game to game has made this matchup fascinating to watch. Or maddening, depending on your perspective.

Desperation has trumped momentum in shaping the flow of the series. A little embarrassment seems to have provided some necessary motivation, too.

Game 3: The Blues looked disinterested and got embarrassed. Momentum for the Wild, right?

Game 4: The Wild turned in a no-show performance in and got run out of its own building. Momentum for the Blues, right?

Game 5: The Wild rode Devan Dubnyk's coattails to take the first 3-2 series in the franchise's playoff history. Momentum for the Wild, right?

Game 6: Who really knows?

So far, these games have followed their own individual scripts that served as a stark rebuttal to what took place the previous game.

These ebbs and flows probably shouldn't be all that surprising. The series features two of the best teams in the league. Two tough road teams. Two teams that take pride in their defensive structure.

Their ability to regroup after disappointing games has been particularly impressive and made momentum nonexistent in the series.

"What's behind you, you've just got leave it," Wild captain Mikko Koivu said. "In the playoffs, that's a challenge, but it's also what makes it great and makes it tougher."

That's why Wild players weren't exactly exhaling on the eve of Game 6. They have seen things turn abruptly several times already. They know better than to assume anything by now.

Chip Scoggins • chip.scoggins@startribune.com