Wild’s Youth Pushing Team Back Into Playoff Picture

Dan Czarnecki March 5, 2016

0 2 minutes read

Hello there, Wild fans!

Sorry that it’s been awhile since you’ve seen something from me. Things have just been crazy busy for me with getting ready to finish up college and move on to the next stage of my life. But that’s besides the point.

What I’m here to talk about today is the Wild’s push back into the playoff picture.

Just weeks ago, us Wild fans wouldn’t even be talking about this with how far outside we were outside the playoff bubble. But now, that has all changed, and that’s mostly due in part to the new energy this team has been playing with under interim head coach John Torchetti.

Up until now, Torchetti was the head coach of the Wild’s former AHL affiliate Houston Aeros, which is now the Iowa Wild.

Just weeks ago under now former head coach Mike Yeo, some of the Wild’s younger players such as Erik Haula, Justin Fontaine, and Nino Niederreiter just to name a few were for whatever reason were struggling, and because of that, Yeo really limited their ice time. This is perhaps one of the biggest contributors of the Wild’s struggles up until now.

However, under new interim head coach Torchetti, they have sprang back to life and have been giving this team the much needed spark to stay competitive in the tight western conference playoff race.

This was very evident in the Wild’s game on Tuesday at home against the Avalanche, as the 1st period scoring for the Wild came from the 3rd line of Nino Niederreiter, Erik Haula, and Jason Pominville. Niederreiter also got 1 of 2 empty-netters late in the game to seal the deal for the Wild.

While 1st line players Parise and Koivu have been on a dry spell for goals lately, their right winger on that line, Charlie Coyle, has been on a tear under Torchetti. Coyle kept his strong play going in their game on Tuesday, scoring the go-ahead goal and one of 2 aforementioned empty-netters.

With the Wild’s recent 6-3 win over the Avalanche on Tuesday, they have now leapfrogged over Colorado into the 2nd and last wild card spot in the western conference thanks to them having a game in hand over the Avs.

As of this writing, the Wild are now officially in the 2nd and last wild card spot in the west after winning in Toronto on Thursday as well as Buffalo just earlier today, earning 4 crucial points to keep their playoff hopes alive. This now makes the Wild winners of their last 4.

The Wild look to continue their push to the playoffs as they get right back to it tomorrow against the Blues. They then have 4 days off before taking on Connor McDavid and the Oilers for the final time this season, and then they have a 3-game road trip out east to take on the Canadiens next Saturday, the Senators the following Tuesday, and then finally the Devils the following Thursday.

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