ST. LOUIS – If the Golden Knights didn't like what they saw between the Avalanche and Kings on Thursday night, they might have cheered up checking in on the Wild's game.
Colorado leapfrogged Vegas to clinch the West Division title and claim the Presidents' Trophy for the best record in the NHL after creaming Los Angeles 5-1, a result that sealed a first-round matchup between the now-No. 2 Golden Knights and No. 3 Wild.
That series begins with a game at 2 p.m. Sunday.
In its last dress rehearsal, the Wild fumbled the chance to polish up its play before the postseason starts.
The Wild sat five key players to rest up for Game 1 on Sunday afternoon, and the new-look lineup didn't corral any momentum for postseason puck drop, coughing up a three-goal lead before collapsing 7-3 to the Blues at Enterprise Center to close the regular season with back-to-back losses.
"You could just tell that we're looking to get going here with the playoffs," Marcus Foligno said. "But you just can't do that in this league. You want to finish strong, and it is what it is. But we know we're better than that."
St. Louis scored four straight goals in the second period, including two on the power play from Brayden Schenn, and added three more in the third to flip a sleepy start into a feel-good finish ahead of the Blues' foray into the postseason as the fourth and final seed in the West Division.
They'll face the Avalanche in a series that begins Monday.