Wild coach Dean Evason had some theories as to why his players looked lethargic on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Maybe it was the fact that the Wild were fresh off an emotional win over the rival Colorado Avalanche. Maybe it was the fact that beloved winger Mason Shaw left the game with what appeared to be a very serious injury. Maybe it was the fact that the Vegas Golden Knights are also a good team.
Or?
“Maybe it’s Vegas,” Evason said while seemingly acknowledging that a few nights in Sin City might have taken their toll. “We didn’t have the pop that we’ve had for awhile now.”
That resulted in a rare blemish for the Wild, who suffered a 4-1 loss to the Golden Knights. After a strong start during which the Wild controlled the pace, they struggled to maintain that energy level for the full 60 minutes.
“We had a really strong game (against the Avalanche) and we wanted to back that up,” Marcus Foligno said. “We just didn’t feel like we played as good as we did there.”
The worst part for the Wild (44-23-9, 97 points) is the loss allowed the Golden Knights (47-22-7, 101 points) to put some distance between them.
Now the Wild have their work cut out for them if they want to win the Western Conference. Not to mention both the Avalanche (45-24-6, 96) and Dallas Stars (41-21-14, 96 points) are right on their heels in the Central Division, too.
“Even though we’ve been on a good streak (the Avalanche) and (the Stars) have been too,” Marc-Andre Fleury said. “It’s going to be a tight race until the end.”
As far as Ryan Reaves is concerned, winning the Western Conference is still very much the goal with a week and a half left in the regular season.
“You want to have home-ice advantage for the whole playoffs,” Reaves said. “We’re right there. It’s not like we’re grinding and praying for it. It’s something we can do. We’ve got to work for it.”
Luckily for the Wild, they have a chance to atone in a rematch with the Golden Knights on Monday night at Xcel Energy Center. A win would go a long way.
“You can’t start sliding now,” Reaves said. “Everything is within a couple of points. We’re still chasing first in the Western Conference. It’s still there. We’ve got to beat these guys on Monday and then we just keep going.”
