The Wild had climbed to within two points of a playoff spot with their 3-game winning streak. Unfortunately that all came to an end yesterday as the Wild fell to the Avalanche 3-2 in a very entertaining Central Division contest.

After Friday's 3-2 come from behind road win in Dallas, the team came out inspired in front of the home faithful last night. Goaltending once again let the Wild down as Devan Dubnyk making his second straight start after a very strong perfomance Friday in Dallas, was a bit leaky especially on the opening goal of the game a long dump in shot from Pierre-Edouard Bellemare shorthanded to boot.

The Wild have upped their game, most notably in the speed and pace of play they are competing at a much higher level recently and it is showing up both in the scoreboard and in the standings. Now getting the key stops from the goaltender at critical times has been another story.

Kevin Fiala continues to impress as he is developing into a dynamic offensive threat. His confidence level is soaring and the skill that he possesses are coming together to form quite the combination. Seven points in the last four games and four goals over that span for the 23 year old Swiss forward.

Three more games at home for the Wild, in this incredibly unbalanced home-road 2019-20 schedule, that has seen them play 16 of the last 20 and 19 of 23, when it is all said and done, at home. The sad part is this was supposedly the time where the Wild would assert themselves as a true playoff contender taking full advantage of their home ice. That has not been the case as they have dropped to .500 through those 16 home games going 7-7-2.

Vegas is next for the Wild as they try to salvage what is left of the home heavy schedule before the schedule evens itself out. No points are easy so squandering even a single point is detrimental to the Wild's playoff prognosis.

I know there are those that say who cares as there is not much hope for any kind of playoff run should the Wild find their way in. That is always up for debate of course but making the playoffs is still the goal because once you are in things change and matchups sometimes turn out to be favorable and the next thing you know a wild ride begins.

Pipedream or not the Wild are in the race and the exciting part is this is not the same old team we have been watching in recent seasons. Now if they can get the stability between the pipes to make them a legitimate threat, that is the question that needs to be answered.

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