The Minnesota Wild are where no one thought they would be. At the beginning of this 2020-21 campaign, they were slotted to maybe compete for the final playoff spot in a top-heavy West Division; hanging on by the skin of their teeth to get gutpunched by the Colorado Avalanche or Vegas Golden Knights in the first round.
That might still happen—but right now, the Wild are sitting second in the division by points percentage and have earned some top performances against some predicted Cup contenders. A 6-2 win here, a 2-0 shutout win there; Minnesota put on some displays of pure dominance when no one was really expecting much out of them.