Yesterday I mentioned that Bryan was going to be absent due to unforeseen circumstances, here's the story

I hate to violate our own rules on the site, but I am going to ask for some help. Yesterday, my niece’s 3 month old daughter passed away unexpectedly. Our family does not have the ability to pay for the cost of the funeral / burial / other costs. I come here on bended knee, asking for your help, or the help or your networks.

If you can help, please do so. If not, I understand completely. Thanks for reading the site and for reading this post.

If you want to check things out, or make a donation, here is the site we are using: http://www.gofundme.com/is5b8

Obviously we do not want to place pressure on anyone, or anything, but this isn't a blog or a news outlet. We're a community and as such thought we'd share the news with the community and ask for the community's help if able.

Thank you.

The rest after the jump

Draft Position

The Wild find themselves in 7th position (79 points/80 games played) just ahead of Carolina (80/80) but still within striking distance of 5th (Anaheim and Toronto are tied with 78/80). Anaheim finishes with Edmonton and Calgary, two incredibly winnable games. The Maple Leafs finish with Tampa Bay and Montreal, two winnable games. The Wild are within striking distance of the fourth position, two points ahead of the Islanders (77/80) who finish with the Jets and Blue Jackets.

It's not over folks!

Game Recap

• Wild loses, but continues strong late push | StarTribune.com - Mike Yeo doesn't buy that the reason the Wild has been successful recently is because the pressure's off and players feel looser with nothing to play for.
• Radulov, Predators snap Wild's three-game win streak in shootout | 1500 ESPN Twin Cities - Dany Heatley had the lone goal for the Wild, who came in 12th in the Western Conference. But the Wild, a team that should be jockeying for draft position, had won three straight and five of eight.
• Wild Vs. Predators: Minnesota's Winning Streak Snapped In 2-1 Shootout Loss To Nashville - SB Nation Minnesota - The Minnesota Wild had their three-game winning streak broken on Tuesday night, falling to the Nashville Predators by a score of 2-1 via shootout.
• Nashville Predators beat Minnesota Wild in shootout | The Tennessean | tennessean.com - Alexander Radulov scored the eventual game-winner in the second round of the shootout on a forehand move. But it was Lindback who was the big star of the game, especially in the contest’s crucial minutes.

Wild News

• Wild's Zucker offers special tribute to his parents | StarTribune.com - Like every hockey player, Jason Zucker puts a lot of time into making sure his sticks are prepared just right every game. But Zucker takes it one step further. Zucker writes "Mom and Dad" in magic marker on each stick. It's a tribute to mother, Natalie, and father, Scott, and the role they played in his hockey career.
• If it's a shootout, the Wild's usually involved | StarTribune.com - The Wild fell to 10-9 in shootouts. That’s the most in the NHL. I’m no math genius, but that’s 19 stressful ... file-the-second-the-game’s-over stories for first edition.

Tending the Fields

• Rand: Tanking at season's end has a cost | StarTribune.com - The notion of a team tanking -- intentionally playing badly, or at least purposely fielding a team that is below its capability -- to potentially improve draft position and theoretically create a better team in the future pits two very different and opposing notions against each other.