Wild, once comfortable, now finds itself in heated playoff race

Through its 4-0 start to the season, its 10-3-1 record in November and its 11-2-1 run that bridged January and February, the Wild had the look — both on the ice and in the NHL standings — of a playoff team, and maybe one that could make a deep run.

The team was playing exciting hockey, routinely erasing multiple-goal deficits and becoming a feel-good story in a Minnesota sports landscape starving for national success.

Over the past two weeks, however, the Wild has six losses in seven games, including four defeats in a row. Folks might want to pump the brakes on those parade plans down West 7^th Street.

"Every team goes through something like this; you just have to get out of it,'' Wild captain Jared Spurgeon said after Tuesday's 5-1 loss to Calgary at Xcel Energy Center. "We're sticking together in there, and the only way to do it is together. You can't go your individual ways. It's a team game, and the team's going to get out of it together.''

A glance at the NHL standings reveals that the Wild can't coast to the finish line over the final 31 games of the season. Instead of putting some distance between itself and other playoff hopefuls, the Wild has seen its cushion shrink. Minnesota entered Wednesday's games with 65 points, which was good for third in the Central Division. That's in line for a playoff spot, but Nashville (64) and Dallas (61) are lurking.

Should the Wild fall out of the top three in the division, it would have to battle for one of two wild-card berths in the West. Nashville and Edmonton (63) had those spots entering Wednesday's play, with Dallas and Anaheim (61) in contention. In the Wild's favor is the fact that it has at least one game in hand over its pursuers in both the Central Division and a potential wild-card race.

"We have to understand that this is gut-check time,'' said winger Marcus Foligno, whose team plays at Philadelphia on Thursday and Buffalo on Friday. "This is where moving into playoff spots matters, and everyone's got to just bring their working boots.''

"Our physicality was great, our commitment was great, we out-chanced them,'' Wild coach Dean Evason said. "Everything was great, but we didn't score goals.''

They didn't stop them, either, as goalie Cam Talbot gave up four or more goals for a fourth consecutive game. Kaapo Kahkonen, who splits time with Talbot, has given up 14 goals in his past four games.

"When everybody's struggling, people are like, 'Oh geez, it's got to be the goalie,' '' Evason said. "Everyone's struggling, right?''

What should concern the Wild is that its past two games were against the Pacific Division-leading Flames in a matchup that had the feel of a playoff series. Calgary coach Darryl Sutter led Los Angeles to Stanley Cup titles in 2012 and 2014, and his Flames teams feature similar size and tenacity. The Wild's physical response Tuesday wasn't enough to flip the result. The clock is quickly ticking on Minnesota to rediscover its successful form.

"I don't want to say we're fine. It's just we've got to understand that that's how we have to play,'' Foligno said. "We're a gritty team with skill, and we can't shy away from the rough stuff. We always have to be emotionally involved.''