Article: Minnesota Wild Fans Shouldn't Fear the Playoff Format

[Tony Abbott]

View full article

[Dango]

This is why our next trade could be very crucial , it absolutely has to work and be effective because it could very easily make us more vulnerable on defense .  

[Burnt Toast]

Wedgewood has the best stats of all goalies this year. It’s not close either. Everybody likes to mention CM and NM but they will need Scotty to have playoff success. This is the best Wild team I’ve ever seen and I think they’re capable of beating anyone including the Aves. 

[Quebec1648]

Everyone seems to be making the assumption we have to beat both Dallas and Colorado in the playoffs, but that assumes we actually face both. Colorado is not invincible, I could easily see a scenario where they run out of gas towards the end and collapse in round 1. Finishing #1 is physically and mentally exhausting, so an upset is possible.

Another question, is who will be the 4th team in the Wild`s brackett? Who will face Colorado in round 1?

[Burnt Toast]

54 minutes ago, Quebec1648 said:

Who will face Colorado in round 1?

The Wildcard team with the worst record. Lots of possibilities. 

[Quebec1648]

5 hours ago, Burnt Toast said:

The Wildcard team with the worst record. Lots of possibilities. 

I was looking for people to speculate on which team it will be. Which team on the playoff bubble has a roster capable of handling the Avalanche?

[Burnt Toast]

1 hour ago, Quebec1648 said:

I was looking for people to speculate on which team it will be.

Preds, Saros gets hot anything can happen. 

[Pablo]

Av’s in round 1, the predators or mammoth could get hot and upset them but even if we face the Av’s in rd 2 and win. We will likely have to go thru the oilers to get to the cup games so there is zero easy opponents no matter what. We are finally built to compete with anyone so sit back and enjoy the ride.  Also, expect 1 more addition to the roster….

[mnfaninnc]

I like the post that someone mentioned on an earlier thread, injuries can drastically affect seedings. Who could be 4th? Well there's a very good Winnipeg team who lost Hellebuyck for a long stretch. Barely making the playoffs could be Winnipeg's season. That could be the Avs 1st round opponent. 

We got pretty lucky, Hellebuyck got hurt and we went on 2 7 game winning streaks, putting a lot of distance between us and the Jets. 

Florida was the #8 matchup for the President's trophy Bruins. At 8, they were in the SCFs. Teams who barely qualify have gone on very nice runs historically. Some teams aren't built for regular season success and are built for playoff success, last decade's Kings are a good example. 

But the big issue is team health when entering and playing in the playoffs. Injuries, specifically to a certain position can completely derail a cup run, or, getting them back can ignite a deep cup run. 

This season, in particular has seen a rise in injuries due to the condensed schedule with the Olympic break involved. Deep teams would have the regular season advantage. Teams who have to overextend playing time may have even more injuries. It seems to me that the Avs haven't really been hit with those. Scott Wedgewood has filled in real well for MacKenzie Blackwood, who is their #1. If Blackwood is hot in the playoffs, you probably see Colorado just advancing. If he's hurt, I don't think Wedgewood can carry the team. 

And, taking a look out East, nightly those playoff teams change. The Maple Leafs are in last place in their division, but really only about 2 wins out of a playoff spot. This is a crazy year! Florida which started out with 2 drastic injuries is lurking in the 8 spot and if things were final right now would get to face the Hurricanes in round 1. No Hurricane's fan would suggest that this was a good matchup! The Sabres are 2 points out of a spot!

Injuries can happen at any time and are the great equalizer. 

18 hours ago, Dango said:

This is why our next trade could be very crucial , it absolutely has to work and be effective because it could very easily make us more vulnerable on defense

This here is a gem of a statement. Where are we weakest? Center depth and top 6 scoring are our biggest need. Don't rob our roster to fill that spot, we need to use our futures for this. 

It sure would help things if we could improve with a guy like Pettersson down the middle.

[FredJohnson]

You know who should be PI$$ED about the playoff format? The Avenots! (And the South Stars) 

[Dango]

On 12/27/2025 at 9:53 AM, mnfaninnc said:

I like the post that someone mentioned on an earlier thread, injuries can drastically affect seedings. Who could be 4th? Well there's a very good Winnipeg team who lost Hellebuyck for a long stretch. Barely making the playoffs could be Winnipeg's season. That could be the Avs 1st round opponent. 

We got pretty lucky, Hellebuyck got hurt and we went on 2 7 game winning streaks, putting a lot of distance between us and the Jets. 

Florida was the #8 matchup for the President's trophy Bruins. At 8, they were in the SCFs. Teams who barely qualify have gone on very nice runs historically. Some teams aren't built for regular season success and are built for playoff success, last decade's Kings are a good example. 

But the big issue is team health when entering and playing in the playoffs. Injuries, specifically to a certain position can completely derail a cup run, or, getting them back can ignite a deep cup run. 

This season, in particular has seen a rise in injuries due to the condensed schedule with the Olympic break involved. Deep teams would have the regular season advantage. Teams who have to overextend playing time may have even more injuries. It seems to me that the Avs haven't really been hit with those. Scott Wedgewood has filled in real well for MacKenzie Blackwood, who is their #1. If Blackwood is hot in the playoffs, you probably see Colorado just advancing. If he's hurt, I don't think Wedgewood can carry the team. 

And, taking a look out East, nightly those playoff teams change. The Maple Leafs are in last place in their division, but really only about 2 wins out of a playoff spot. This is a crazy year! Florida which started out with 2 drastic injuries is lurking in the 8 spot and if things were final right now would get to face the Hurricanes in round 1. No Hurricane's fan would suggest that this was a good matchup! The Sabres are 2 points out of a spot!

Injuries can happen at any time and are the great equalizer. 

This here is a gem of a statement. Where are we weakest? Center depth and top 6 scoring are our biggest need. Don't rob our roster to fill that spot, we need to use our futures for this. 

It sure would help things if we could improve with a guy like Pettersson down the middle.

Right now it appears that the PP is dysfunctional or it took a few steps backwards, one thing im wondering is if Kappy feels more players need to get more involved so hes passing more and its a re adjustment  , you sort of see that with certain players on other teams as well .  

[mnfaninnc]

23 hours ago, Dango said:

Right now it appears that the PP is dysfunctional or it took a few steps backwards, one thing im wondering is if Kappy feels more players need to get more involved so hes passing more and its a re adjustment  , you sort of see that with certain players on other teams as well . 

It seems like the league has figured out where Kaprizov likes to shoot from, especially the 1-timers. He has been blocked several times. I'd say that sometimes a shooter like Kaprizov starts passing to try and open back up his shooting lanes. It's kind of a back and forth kind of thing.