Now or never.
Turning to reckless hyperbole seems almost excusable when assessing Bruce Boudreau's title chances, considering the position he has the Minnesota Wild in through one night in the post-All-Star break schedule.
The Wild now sit atop the points percentage standings with the NHL's top goal differential after their convincing 5-2 win over the upstart Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, as they capped the month of January with a 10-2-1 record with their 33rd win from 49 starts.
Of course, Boudreau, one of the best coaches on the planet, is in just his first season of a four-year contract with the Wild, and would be hired immediately, again, if his time in Minnesota fails to bear a championship.
But, in many respects, this season is shaping up to be his next best chance to finally - finally - experience the immense success he's had in the regular season come spring and summer.
Balance, and that Dubnyk guy
Minnesota's balanced, fourth-ranked overall attack has produced more goals than any team at five-on-five without a single player in the top 20 in league scoring. Meanwhile, netminder Devan Dubnyk has a tight, two-hand grip on the Vezina Trophy with a league-best .936 save percentage and five shutouts.
This combination, and the corresponding PDO wave, has the Wild on pace for 119 points, or the second-most in Boudreau's wildly successful career. He's averaged 108 points in the space of seven uninterrupted 82-game campaigns behind an NHL bench.
Yet again, he's extracted all he can from the parts he's been provided. But this season, what's beyond Boudreau's control works in tandem, further boosting Minnesota's postseason chances.
Altered NHL landscape
The balance of power in the NHL has shifted to the Eastern Conference, with many West Coast outfits slipping into mediocrity. The league's taken another bite out of the Kings, who continue to diminish, while the Blues are suddenly a mess. The Predators seem to be working through an adjustment period, and the Oilers have improved by leaps and bounds, but still seem to be below the elite tier. Boudreau's old team, the Ducks, may win a fifth consecutive division title, but their underlying data is merely ordinary. The Blackhawks' stars aren't scoring, and continue to trend toward the mean in shot-based possession metrics. And the defending conference champion Sharks are formidable once again, but long postseason runs are taxing, and nearly impossible to survive in consecutive seasons.
The conference is there for the taking. A Stanley Cup Final coin flip awaits.
Another reason that this must be the year? Minnesota's bracing for a mini cap crunch this summer.
Leading scorer Mikael Granlund is a restricted free agent when the season is up, and is putting himself in position to command a considerable raise on his current $3-million salary. Nino Niederreiter and Erik Haula will also need new deals. To that, the upcoming expansion draft will claim a body, in turn creating some financial wiggle room to retain free agents, but losing a key asset is an obvious detriment to the program.
Entrance into the tournament has been a certainty for Boudreau-led teams over the past decade; it's been the consequence of crashing out early that has changed over the years.
Boudreau won't have to worry about his job if the Wild suffer more heartbreak, but failure to seize this opportunity may torment the coach just the same.
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