Final thoughts on the Wild's playoff run

Now that the wound isn't so fresh, I suppose I should write a little something about the Minnesota Wild, since the season came to an abrupt end.

It happened so fast that it left Wild players and fans stunned. A bad bounce, a fluke bounce, really, caromed right to Patrick Kane's stick. He buried the overtime goal in game six to send the Chicago Blackhawks to the Western Conference Finals. I had a delayed reaction to that goal, too, as I sat in my bedroom and simply said, "no," with a bit of saddened anguish.

It was evident watching the postgame interviews that even the players were in shock over how that game, series and season ended. A bounce like that? it just couldn't be true.

Just good, quality hockey
Still, when you reflect back on the postseason for the wild, it was one helluva ride. They put on a great show in a thrilling seven-game series versus the rival Colorado Avalanche. Then it was on to Chicago, except they didn't win there (to paraphrase a famous quote from the late Robert Kennedy).

The difference between the series from last year and this year between the two clubs was clear right away. In 2013, the eventual-champion Blackhawks didn't have much trouble disposing of the Wild four games to one.

Honestly, I think game two this year was the only one where the Wild struggled throughout the game and just didn't have the magic. Game one was the one that got away. The Wild came back strong with decisive wins at home, and game five was only decided by a goal. In an overtime-game six, Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford really stole the show. There most definitely would have been a game seven without his solid performance in game six.

Of course, I wanted to see the Wild move deeper into the playoffs. But it was great hockey, they didn't get blown out and it was just generally exciting. Good enough.

Focus on the positives
Lots of positives came out of the Wild's playoff run this year. For one thing, youngsters stepped up and starting scoring goals in key spots. Erik Haula and Justin Fontaine. Keep those two on a line together next season, maybe with Jason Zucker, when he returns from his injury. Then there's Mikael Granlund. Who can forget his sliding overtime winner in game six to send the first-round series back to Denver?

It was great to see some of those plays from guys who hadn't done that all season. It's also nice because I don't think this is a team that will be broken apart through the offseason business of free agency and contracts. For the most part, the Wild will have many key players putting on the sweaters again come fall.

I also enjoyed seeing the Wild bandwagon get bigger and bigger throughout the state of hockey. It's no secret for me that hockey isn't one of the most popular sports at the professional level. You've got football, baseball, basketball. Hockey can get pushed to the side. I just hope some of these fans stick around to show support for the team next year as well.