Games Seventy-five and seventy-six

In the hunt for a playoff spot, the Minnesota Wild are doing a lot of standing still. They aren't out of the chase yet, but they aren't making up ground against the teams ahead of them, either. With six games remaining, the Wild can possibly end the season with 92 points, which can only happen if they find a way to win out their remaining games. Even given that, they'll need help from teams playing against those teams directly in their way.

Of course, it doesn't help when the Wild can't even help themselves, as was the case Saturday night against the Calgary Flames. Niklas Backstrom did everything he could to keep the Wild in the game, and the officials even chipped in, waving off two Calgary goals, but Minnesota was unable to keep the momentum they generated first by opening the scoring, and later by tying the game at 2. It certainly didn't help that the Wild was only able to manage 15 shots the entire game, and that none of them came off of the stick of Marian Gaborik.

After losing to the Flames 3-2, the Wild had to look at Sunday as being either a chance to get some extra life support, or the final nail in the coffin. Their opponent was the Edmonton Oilers, and the Wild, largely thanks to some very skilled play by Gaborik and Andrew Brunette, along with great saves by Niklas Backstrom, was able to edge out the Oilers 3-2. Not only did this bring the Wild within a point of Edmonton, and keep them only three back from the eighth playoff spot, but it was done in an arena that the Wild had been struggling in. The Wild was also opportunistic, as the game-winning goal came during a delayed penalty call, giving the Wild an extra attacker.

Game pluses:
- Stephane Veilleux. Veilleux seemed like he was everywhere in the past two games, creating opportunities with his linemates all weekend long. Maybe the loss of Pierre-Marc Bouchard has lit a fire under Veilleux.
- Niklas Backstrom. The Wild netminder did everything he could to allow the Wild to beat Calgary, but it's hard when your team is outshot 40-15 and you suffer a lower body injury. Still, Backstrom came out hard the very next night against Edmonton, and showed exactly why the Wild are still in a playoff chase.
- Mikko Koivu. The Wild captain returned exactly one week after suffering a knee injury, and his presence on the ice helped free things up for the team. The difference between the Wild with Koivu and without Koivu is marked.

Game minuses:
- Martin Skoula. In his first real bad game of the season, Skoula contributed (either directly or indirectly) to all three Calgary goals. The Flames game winner? That came during a 2-on-1 caused by a bad line change between Skoula and Nick Schultz.
- Marc-Andre Bergeron. On Saturday, Bergeron played on the wing. On Sunday, he was back on defense. On neither day did he look confident or have good puck possession.
- Shooting. The Wild are a team that has been outshot all season. While they held the shots close against Edmonton (until the third, when the Oilers tried to mount a comeback), they were blown out of the water by Calgary. When you score twice in ten shots against a good goalie, that should give you the confidence and desire to shoot more often, but that doesn't seem to be the case for Minnesota.

Next up: The Wild have just suffered through a stretch of 14 of 17 games on the road, and they finally return home for a couple at the Xcel Energy Center. Unfortunately for Minnesota, they haven't been that sharp on their home ice this season, either. To keep their playoff hopes alive, the Wild are looking for a win Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks.