More of the Same

For the third month in a row, the Wild failed to break out of the ordinary. The gained points in nine of their fifteen games this month but only picked up six wins. The did however win all four of their division games, though three of them were against Calgary who is currently above only Edmonton in the Western Conference.
The Wild got a good feel for where they fit in to the rest of the conference as well. They played four games against the top five teams in the west. In these games they only picked up one win, against San Jose, and lost in over time to the Stars. The other two games, against Anaheim and Detroit, did not go nearly as well. The Wild seemed to be overpowered as they gave up ten goals in the two games while only scoring three.
As has been the case in the last two months the Wild still sit right where they were at the beginning. Simply based on the standings the Wild are still in good shape continuing toward the playoffs. The only thing that has changed is their shot at winning the division, Vancouver has not lost in regulation in their last thirteen games boosting them to the top of the Western Conference. The Avalanche now trail the Canucks by ten points and the Wild trail them by fourteen points. The bottom of the conference has remained the game however, the Wild are in thirteenth place but still only four points out of sixth place and six points away from fourth. Nothing is out of the question still in terms of the playoff picture for the Wild.
Goal tending was the biggest inconsistency for the Wild this month, Backstrom had a three game winning streak where he allowed only one goal in each game. However he was in net for the losses to Anaheim and Detroit. Theodore was called upon more often then usual however his stats didn't match up. He played in six games and picked up only one win, an overtime win against Los Angeles. For the month his goals against average was just under three and his save percentage was around .900, levels that just aren't going to get it done for the wild as they try to make a push.
January brings about an opportunity for the wild once again, they play only four division games again this month, one against each team in the division. On top of those games they play three games early against some of the top teams in the East. This month will be make or break for the Wild, I think if they can pull into a playoff spot now they will be able to hold on and ride out the rest of the season. If they do not start a move now, working into the playoffs in the last two and a half months would be much more difficult. I'm hoping for the earlier of the two but only time will tell. Until then LETS GO WILD!