The Wild received some help on the out-of-town scoreboard Monday night, as the Coyotes fell to the Lightning, and that means the Wild can climb back into the second wild card spot in the Western Conference Tuesday with a win against the Avalanche.
"You gotta outwork the opposition," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "You gotta do everything you can to garner two points at the end of the night."
With 77 points, the Wild is just a point shy of Arizona with nine games to go. Not only would a victory put the team back in a playoff position after it dropped out of one last week, but the Wild would also put more distance between it and Colorado. The Avalanche is three points shy of the Wild.
"Two points is two points," Boudreau said. "That's the bottom line and once you get in, anything else can happen."
This is the final test of a season-long five-game homestand that is currently 1-2-1. All of the Wild's production came last weekend, when it topped the Rangers 5-2 Saturday and then banked a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Islanders – efforts that were much more reflective of the urgency the Wild needs to have success at this juncture of the season.
"We've worked very hard," Boudreau said. "We got three out of four points. You would have loved to have gotten four, but that should be the norm right now."
Former Gophers goalie Mat Robson, whom the Wild signed Monday to a two-year, entry-level contract that starts immediately, wasn't with the team on the ice Tuesday, but he's expected to join practices at some point.
"He'll practice with us and see what the NHL life is all about," Boudreau said.
