With playoffs in sight, Wild try to keep momentum going after break
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Speaking about the playoffs before it's even a certainty is near taboo for NHL teams, and Wild head coach Mike Yeo said he broaches the subject with his team "very little." But, with the likelihood of a third straight playoff appearance nearing for Minnesota, the topic is becoming more of a welcome subject.
"We know what our goal is," Yeo said Wednesday, the final day of a four-day break for the Wild. "We started to talk a little bit more about it lately, just the idea that obviously we want to make the playoffs, but we want to make sure our game is sharp going into the playoffs. By being on top of our game, that will accomplish goal No. 1 of getting in.
"We've talked about it a little bit. I don't think our focus should change. We just have to make sure that we're ready to play our best, and stay focused on our process and how we're supposed to play the game. If we do that, we'll accomplish our goal."
As Minnesota returns Thursday at home -- the third game of a season-long, five-game homestand -- the playoffs are all but a certainty. Heading into Wednesday night's games, the Wild are comfortably in the wild card lead with 95 points -- five points ahead of Winnipeg. After taking a brief moment in third place in the Central Division, Minnesota trails Chicago by three points in the Central.
With six games left, all against teams currently in the playoffs, the Wild's magic number is five. Any combination of points gained by Minnesota or lost by ninth-place Los Angeles clinches a playoff spot for the Wild.
"You want to be careful," Yeo said. "We've got to make sure, especially during this break, that we don't sit around feeling too good about ourselves. I think that Thursday's game will be a real challenge for us. That's going to be real difficult to ramp it back up and take it back to the level . . . we were playing so many games in such a short period of time that we were just in a rhythm that we could just keep on going.
"That rhythm, we're going to try to have to start it again, which is always a bit of a challenge. But I will say I believed in this group and what we could do, and I never stopped believing that the playoffs was a real goal for us."
Yeo seemed cautious about losing momentum even before the Wild took their unusual late-season break. A five-game winning streak sent Minnesota into the break with confidence. The recent play, and the way the Wild have handled themselves during the 26-6-2 stretch since goaltender Devan Dubnyk joined the team on Jan. 15, has everyone believing they will be able to pick up where they left off in beating Los Angeles on Saturday.
"I don't see us really losing any of the momentum that we had," forward Zach Parise said. "I think it was more, it was good timing for it."
Parise has been part of a similar finishing stretch. In his rookie season with New Jersey, the Devils won 11 straight games to finish the season. They came from behind to win the Atlantic Division before sweeping the Rangers in the first round.
This season, Parise admired the way Minnesota has handled itself after losses -- the Wild haven't lost back-to-back games in regulation since Jan. 11-13.
"I feel like everybody is handling it really well," Parise said. "Everyone is humble about the way we've been playing. Win or loss, you can see how we're rebounding after losses. But even after wins, we're not getting too cocky. We're not getting ahead of ourselves. I think that's been a big part of why we've won a majority of our games."
Prosser back to practice: Defenseman Nate Prosser returned to practice with the team for the first time since suffering a knee injury on March 14. Prosser won't return to the lineup for Thursday's game but feels he's ready.
"I feel good," Prosser said. "The knee feels good. The endurance feels good, so whenever I'm needed I'll be ready."
Prosser has two goals and five assists in 60 games this season. He said he wasn't sure if he would be able to return in the regular season and initially felt he had a Charley Horse, before a magnetic resonance imaging test showed a sprained medial collateral ligament.
He's been skating on his own prior to practice. Prosser's return gave Minnesota 26 players, including eight defensemen.
"It's not up to me; it's not my decision," Prosser said of returning to the lineup. "All I can do is what's in my control and that's what I've always said all along. I'm going to go on each day and practice hard if that's what I'm supposed to do. Hit the weight room hard and make sure I'm at top shape when my number is called."
Yeo said Prosser looked "actually very good" during Wednesday's practice and said Prosser will play again. There is no set date for a possible return.
"He was in good shape going into the injury and he's been working hard while he's been out," Yeo said. "Certainly it is different when you get out there and you start moving. It's not just the skating, the straight-away skating, the stops and starts. It's the other things that happen so quickly out there. It's the battles that these things that you've had no way of really conditioning for those."
Haula out Thursday: Prosser's return meant there were 26 players on the ice during Wednesday's practice, which will create some lineup decisions for Yeo. One such decision, at least for Thursday, will be scratching center Erik Haula.
Haula has seven goals and six assists in 69 games this season, and is a minus-8. Haula was one of a few players Yeo met with Wednesday as he looks at possible lineup changes.
"After his last scratch, I thought that he really elevated his game and I think that he's been doing an outstanding job on the penalty kill," Yeo said of Haula. "There's a couple parts of his game that kind of crept towards some of the things he was doing. I don't think he's playing bad, but I don't think he's playing quite at the level that he was at. So we just talked about a couple of those things and this is just a couple games for him that it's been going that way. He's done a good job over this little stretch, and we've got to get some guys in."
Yeo said Haula will play Saturday against Detroit. The fourth line for Thursday's game is expected to be Kyle Brodziak centering Ryan Carter and Jordan Schroeder.
The final six games will help Yeo sort through the lineup and make a decision on a group to start the playoffs.
"Obviously we've got to try to make sure that we get in, but we've also got to make sure that once we're in our game is sharp and that we've identified the group that we want to start Game 1 with," Yeo said. "It doesn't mean that you'll go with that group night after night. I kind of met with some guys this morning, it's not easy because everybody's got an argument and you can make a case for everybody, why they deserve to play and the good things that they've done for us at different points. But we have to make some choices, so we'll do the best that we can over the next little bit here."
Dubnyk nets another award: Dubnyk added another league honor on Wednesday, being named the NHL's Third Star for March. Dubnyk became the first Wild player to be a part of the NHL's monthly three stars twice in a season or career. He was the NHL's First Star for February.
The only other Minnesota player to be awarded with the league's monthly honor was goaltender Josh Harding in November 2013. Dubnyk has been a weekly star honoree three times this season, all coming with the Wild.
In March, Dubnyk won a league-high 11 games and compiled a 1.78 goals-against average and .942 save percentage in going 11-3-0. He was also perfect on the road with a 6-0-0 record, 1.15 goals-against average and .966 save percentage.
Ottawa rookie goaltender Andrew Hammond was the first star and Calgary Flames forward Jiri Hudler was the second star.
Dubnyk will make his 36th straight start Thursday, the most in the NHL since Dwayne Roloson started 36 straight games for Edmonton in 2009, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"I don't think he's shown any signs of fatigue," Yeo said. "I know it's been a hot topic. But there's no signs of it whatsoever."
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