Wild: Emotional exhaustion, short turnaround hurt second-round chances
The Wild advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with an impressive six-game win over the second-best team in the NHL’s Western Conference. It was Minnesota’s first playoff series victory since 2015. The Wild had exorcised a demon that had been plaguing them for 10 years, but the accomplishment might have taken more out of them than they thought.
With only one full day off before starting the second round, the Wild dropped their first two games to the Avalanche by a combined score of 14-8 and fell into a hole they couldn’t get out of. “Really, it starts with Game 1 and 2,” center Michael McCarron said. “I don’t think we were quite ready (to be) emotionally invested in the series.
Sometimes when a team has gone through what the Wild have gone through the past 11, 10 years, of not being able to get through the first round, it’s almost like, ‘We did it. ’ Maybe, took a breath. ” That wasn’t all of it, of course.
The Avalanche — the regular-season’s President’s Trophy winner — had been waiting for the Wild or Stars since sweeping an overmatched Kings team in the first round. The Wild, meanwhile, found out after midnight on Friday, May 1, that they would start the second round on Sunday night. That gave them one full day off between series.
“It seemed like we were a little tired,” said McCarron, a trade deadline acquisition who played a large role for the Wild on their muscle line — two goals and four points in 11 games. “I know it was a big thing in the Minnesota sports world to get out of the first round,” he added. “I think maybe a lot of guys who have been here for a long time — including me, I’d never been out of the first round — but just coming off that emotional high (was difficult).
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