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While the Vikings were producing hourly roster headlines, the Wolves were bouncing up and down the Western Conference standings while waiting for star center Karl-Anthony Towns' return, the Twins were making preparations for the season ahead, the Gophers (men) were losing a five star recruit and (women) were dispatching their most famous player from her perch as head coach, the Wild ...
... just kept winning.
Yes, other things have happened recently to the Wild, including a key injury (more on that in a minute) and a flurry of trade deadline moves. But one thing hasn't happened in more than a month: the Wild haven't lost a game in regulation, amassing a 14-game point streak that is as amazing as it is unlikely.
I talked about their most recent victory on Thursday's Daily Delivery podcast, but let's go a little deeper into the numbers of what has transpired since their last regulation loss on Feb. 15 and now:
1-4-1: That was the Wild's record in the six games preceding the 14-game point streak. Those were the first six games after the All-Star break, and they had sent the Wild tumbling down the standings. Included in that stretch was back-to-back drubbings (4-1 and 5-1) against Dallas and Vegas, two of the top teams in the West.
15: The number of points the Wild gained on Winnipeg during its 14-game streak (during which Minnesota has gone 11-0-3). On Feb. 16, the day after the Wild's last regulation loss, Minnesota was in fourth place in the Central Division with 61 points and tied for the second and final Wild Card spot in the West with Calgary. They were two points behind Colorado, eight behind Winnipeg and 10 behind division-leading Dallas. Now they are in second place in the Central, just one point behind Dallas and seven ahead of Winnipeg.
21: The number of goals the Wild scored in the first 10 games of the streak. But they didn't allow more than three goals in any of those games, going 8-0-2 (including four wins by identical 2-1 scores). In the final game of those 10, a 4-2 win over Winnipeg, star scorer Kirill Kaprizov was injured So naturally ...
21: Also the number of goals the Wild has scored in the most recent four games of the streak, almost all of it coming without Kaprizov. The Wild has proved lately that it can win tight-checking games and shootouts, making the streak all the more improbable.
