Even after losing Game 2 against St. Louis on Saturday, the Wild holds a position of playoff control against the Blues — a strange position for this franchise in the playoffs and for its fans (and Minnesota fans in general).
Every series the Wild managed to win in the past has come with an air of desperation. Even in the only other series in franchise history in which the Wild won Game 1 — 2003 against Colorado — things took a quick downward turn when Colorado won Games 2, 3 and 4.
Minnesota needed to rally from a 3-1 deficit in that series; it needed to do the same to win the following series against Vancouver.