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The Minnesota Wild may not have the same storied playoff history as other NHL franchises, but they have had some memorable moments over the years.
As they head into the 2023 NHL playoffs, let's take a look back at their playoff history.
Playoff history of Minnesota Wild ahead of 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs
The Wild made their first playoff appearance in 2003, just three years after the franchise was founded.
In their first postseason series, the Wild faced off against the Colorado Avalanche, who won two Stanley Cup championships in the last seven years. Despite being heavy underdogs, the Wild shocked the hockey world by beating the Avalanche in seven games.
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The series is best remembered for Andrew Brunette's overtime goal in Game 7, which sent the Wild to the second round.
In the second round of the 2003 playoffs, the Wild faced off against the Vancouver Canucks. The Wild came back to take down the Canucks before getting knocked out of the playoffs by the red-hot Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
The Minnesota Wild returned to the playoffs in 2007, where they faced off against the Anaheim Ducks in the first round. The series was a hard-fought battle, with the Wild falling short in five games.
After a few years of playoff absence, the Minnesota Wild returned to the postseason in 2013. Led by the play of goaltender Josh Harding, the Wild couldn’t get past the Blackhawks, though. In 2014, The Wild took down the Colorado Avalanche in seven games behind an overtime goal in game seven by Nino Neiderreiter as the Blackhawks once again squashed the Wild’s Stanley Cup hopes.
The next season, Minnesota toppled the St. Louis Blues in six games, only to be swept out of the playoffs once again by the Chicago Blackhawks. The year after, the Dallas Stars would knock out the Wild in the first round in a hard-fought series. The Wild have failed to make it out of the first round since 2015.
The Minnesota Wild made their most recent playoff appearance in 2022, where they faced off against the St. Louis Blues in the first round. The Wild couldn’t finish the job, though, as the Blues bounced the higher-seeded Wild out of the playoffs in six games.
Despite not having as much playoff success as other NHL franchises, the Wild have still had some memorable moments over the years.
From their upset of the Avalanche in 2003 and the Avalanche in 2014, the Wild have shown that they can be a dangerous team in the postseason. As they head into the 2023 NHL playoffs, the Wild will look to add to their playoff legacy and make another deep run.
