ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild have clinched a spot in the NHL playoffs, giving them another chance to advance in the postseason for the first time since 2015.
The Wild earned a bid 75 games in after clinching last year in the 82nd and final game of the regular season. They beat league-worst Vancouver 5-2 on Thursday night to get in.
“We knew all we had to do was win a game and we're there,” winger Ryan Hartman said. “Happy with the result tonight.”
Minnesota was eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round last year, ending coach John Hynes’ debut season.
The Wild failed to advance in seven postseason appearances between 2016 and 2023. Their deepest run in the playoffs was a trip to the conference finals in 2003 in the franchise’s third year of existence.
The Minnesota North Stars lost in the 1981 and 1991 Stanley Cup Final. They relocated to Dallas in 1993, becoming the Stars, and hoisted the Cup in 1999.
The Wild proved their commitment to contending this season by signing Kirill Kaprizov to an eight-year, $136 million contract extension — the richest deal in league history. The star winger has a team-high 83 points and now has Minnesota back in the postseason again.
“We make playoffs, it’s nice," Kaprizov said. “It's the best time of the year.”
Goaltender Filip Gustavsson has won twice as many games as he’s lost while giving up a little more than 2 1/2 goals per game.
“He's such a talented kid, but now you're starting to see the talent come into, I think, a mindset and a little bit of a swagger that you need to have as the main guy, and he's done a good job of that,” Hynes said. “I think the guys play hard in front of him, and he's done a good job too, I think, of earning the trust and respect of the group.”
Minnesota has the league’s longest active streak of consecutive winning seasons at 14.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Woodside Musical Theatre proudly presents Jesus Christ Superstar in Concert — the company’s … Read moreJESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR in Concert
“Side-splittingly funny and brilliantly chaotic” Read moreThe Play That Goes Wrong
John Baker said:
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.