Wild enter a rare 3-day weekend break in this fast and furious 56-game sprint. They take a three game win streak into this what to them may seem like a week long break after playing 21 games over the last 38 days.

Last night Cam Talbot completely stole the two points the Wild got with their 2-0 victory over the Blues. St. Louis was clearly the better team in all facets of the game outplaying the Wild for large stretches of the contest and forcing turnovers that led to a lopsided shot/shot attempts margin and puck control in favor of the Blues.

Talbot, playing his third straight and the second of back to backs has re-established himself as the Wild's #1 goalie. That does not mean that Kaapo Kahkonen has been relegated to a complete backup like we have seen with Alex Stalock when he was Devan Dubnyk's understudy, but it does create a clearer definition of the roles as the team looks to make their push to qualify for the postseason.

All season the Wild have gotten very strong goaltending, and as we have talked about here, the internal goaltender competition is so important to the team's overall success.

It has been a grueling schedule for the Wild since they returned from their COVID-19 outbreak playing those 21 games in 38 days, but you would not know that by looking at their record, which is a sparkling 15-5-1 over that span.

The last five Wild games have not been their best by any stretch, but after getting blasted in Colorado by a combined 11-1 score in the two games last weekend the team responded with two wins over the Ducks and last night's 2-0 shutout of St. Louis.

There are 24 games left for the Wild, with an even 12 at home and 12 on the road. The Wild will face the Blues seven more times, Vegas four more times, and Colorado twice. That accounts for just over half of the remaining contests against the three teams that they are chasing.

I know the Wild have a six point lead in the standings over St. Louis after last night's win and even have a game in hand. That said, last night spoke volumes about the Blues and the Wild, despite the outcome on the scoreboard. St. Louis, Colorado, and Vegas were the clear cut preseason stock picks to lead the Honda/West, and nothing has changed to this point to believe otherwise. So yes they are the three teams the Wild and the rest of the division are chasing.

What does Bill Guerin have up his sleeve to tweak the roster, prepare for the expansion draft, or get something in return for his own impending UFAs?

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