Wild 5, Kraken 2

An interesting dynamic in St. Paul, Minnesota on Tuesday night. A team that knows it’s not going to make the playoffs at this point, the Kraken, against a team that’s already locked up a spot, the Wild.

Even if the Kraken won the game and went 6-and-0 to close out the season, they still wouldn’t have gotten to the postseason. That would have earned them 87 points, which ain’t gonna do it. With the loss, it’s a moot point.

Minnesota already knows it’s playing the Dallas Stars in the first round, it’s just a matter of which team earns home ice advantage. Entering action against Seattle, the Wild were two points back of the Stars. It stayed that way with Dallas beating the Calgary Flames in overtime 4-3.

Real pressure? None for Seattle. They could play loosey-goosey and close out their back-to-back road set, having lost 6-2 the night before to the Jets in Winnipeg.

The Kraken worked hard and looked good in the first period, probably their best twenty minutes in the last two weeks.

The Wild are balanced and bring star power in the likes of winger Kirill Kaprizov and Olympic Gold Medalists Matt Boldy and defenseman Quinn Hughes.

Minnesota is thick in physicality and veteran leadership. It’s why they now have 102 points in the standings.

Ultimately this game came down to talent and depth.

Seattle twice took one-goal leads in this game. Brandon Montour tallied midway through the 1st period with a slapper to open the scoring. After Boldy tied it about a minute-and-a-half later, Adam Larsson waited just about the same amount of time to give Seattle the lead again. He ripped a shot home from the slot, his 6th marker of the season.

2-1 visitors after the first.

That would be all of the Kraken scoring. Seattle lacks finish. They had plenty of chances along the way, but failed to convert. It’s a common theme.

Minnesota has won four games in a row; Seattle has lost six consecutive, the first of those being a shoot-out loss to the Buffalo Sabres back on March 28th.

The Kraken have five games remaining this season; the next three are at home.

Earlier Kraken:

— Time To Make The Tough Decision

Earlier Canucks:

— Canucks PR BS; Don’t Blame Ullrich