Game Eighty: Wild 3, Stars 1

Don't tell the Minnesota Wild that their season is almost over. It just might light enough of a fire under them to allow them to put together a winning streak. After shutting out the Calgary Flames, and fighting hard against the Detroit Red Wings, the Wild returned home to take on the Dallas Stars. The Stars have been something of a nemesis to the Wild for much of the franchise history, and Dallas hadn't lost to Minnesota yet this season.

But none of the recent history between the two teams mattered as the Wild were able to skate to a 3-1 victory. The boys in red started out lackluster again, but eventually found their game, and outplayed a Dallas team looking to play spoilers. After the game, the Wild was able to see that they got help from Chicago (who defeated Nashville), but not from Phoenix (who fell to St. Louis).

The only way for the Wild to make the playoffs this season is to beat Nashville on Friday and Columbus on Saturday, and hope for some aid. By winning their remaining two games, the Wild would leapfrog over Nashville, who also have a tough game against Detroit on Thursday. The Wild can still catch the Anaheim Ducks, provided that the Ducks lose in regulation to both Dallas and Phoenix. Minnesota fares better when looking to St. Louis. The Blues would need two points to eliminate the Wild from playoff contention, so, again, if Minnesota wins out, the Blues would either need to beat Columbus or Colorado, or go into overtime in both games. The odds are stacked heavily against Minnesota, but this franchise has pulled off miracles before.

Game pluses:
- Niklas Backstrom. The Wild started out slowly, and, even after finding their game, they coughed up the puck a lot. Backstrom was there to give the Wild time to find the net themselves.
- Cal Clutterbuck. The Wild winger was all over the ice, adding to his NHL hits lead, and taking some good shots. He also drew the penalty at the end of the game that allowed Minnesota to breathe easy and finish on a power play.
- Marian Gaborik. Wild management needs to find a way to sign Gaborik for one season. He once again provided the offensive spark, scoring in his fifth straight game, and adding two assists.

Game minuses:
- Marek Zidlicky. A game after being victimized by Detroit, Zidlicky once again showed that he isn't responsible in his own zone, jumping up too early, or making errant passes that lead to Dallas breakouts.
- Marc-Andre Bergeron. Bergeron continued his trend of coughing the puck up behind the net, handing chances to Dallas all game long. At some point, the threat of his slapshot has to be weighed against his lack of solid defensive play.
- Kurtis Foster. The Wild's Masterson trophy nominee had a rough game against the Stars, losing the puck behind the net a couple of times. Foster has added a physical edge to his game as of late, but seemed to leave it in the locker room against Dallas.

Next up: The Wild play at home again on Friday, with a must-win game against the Nashville Predators. The Predators will be fresh off of a game against the Detroit Red Wings, and might be playing for their own playoff lives at that point.