Wild Can Handle Not Having Home Ice Against the Stars – The Hockey Writers –

The Minnesota Wild have known who their first-round opponent in the postseason was going to be for quite a while now. It had been expected for what felt like months, but was finally confirmed a little over a week ago that they would take on the Dallas Stars. The only thing that was left to be decided, other than the actual date and time, was where they would start, and that was finalized a few days after their matchup was confirmed. 

The Wild will start their postseason on the road in Dallas, and while that may seem problematic for some, for others it’s exactly what they hoped for. In this article, we’ll look at why this isn’t and shouldn’t be horrible for the Wild, starting with their overall record. 

Wild Pretty Equal 

Many believed it would be best for the Wild to start out on the road because they appeared to play better on the road for the majority of the season. However, when you take a look at their overall record for both home and away, they’re pretty even. They had a record of 23-10-8 at home, while on the road they had a record of 23-14-4. 

Although they technically had more regulation losses on the road, they have more overtime losses at home, so it ends up equaling out. The Wild can handle playing at home or on the road, but for some reason, when watching them, they have been able to find another level on the road quite a bit, depending on who they’ve played, of course. 

While it would’ve been great if they’d had a better record, it’s almost reassuring that they have such equal records at home and on the road. That shows they can win regardless of where they play and should give them some confidence knowing they didn’t play way worse at home or on the road. 

Home Ice Not Guaranteed Advantage

The term home ice advantage means it is believed there is an advantage to having home ice, and while there is a slight advantage, it’s not as important as it used to be when you break everything down. Of course, not having to travel is always a benefit, and being in front of the home crowd is another. 

On the flipside, the way these players travel now is completely different and upgraded compared to what it used to be. Teams charter their own planes, which means they don’t have to deal with crowded airports, and they can leave when they need to, unless there are weather or mechanical delays. They stay in top-notch hotels, eat the best food, and get the best treatment compared to years past, when the best was a bit different. 

While there’s still the time factor spent traveling, it isn’t nearly as much of an inconvenience as it used to be. These players are able to travel pretty luxuriously and therefore are more ready to play when they arrive, and many are able to ignore the outside noise of playing on the road and focus on their game. 

Wild Have to Be Better at Home

Although their records were pretty equal this season, whether they were on the road or at home, it appears they should be just fine playing on the road; but they have to find ways to win at home as well, which has been a bigger struggle in the past. This is a different team than in past seasons, and everyone knows it, as does the team. They’ve shown more confidence than in the past, and they know they can win. 

Related: Wild Week Ahead: Schedule & Storylines – Stars Series Fast Approaching and Lineup Changes

They may have lost their final game to the Stars on the road in the regular season, but they did control a lot of that game. After seeing these two teams battle over the seasons, the Stars used to have more of the upper hand, but now it’s become an even battle, if not a little more leaned to the Wild’s side of things. 

After seeing the final game of their regular-season series, it’s safe to say the postseason is going to be a very wild ride for both teams. Both teams have a lot of talent, a lot of speed, and a lot of built-up angst. Every game is going to be intense from start to finish, and hopefully not only will the Wild come out on top, but everyone will be intact as well because they need everyone from Kirill Kaprizov to Jesper Wallstedt to get through this.