The Minnesota Wild came agonizingly close Wednesday to keeping their playoff hopes alive and forcing a Game 6 back in St. Paul. Instead, they discovered yet another heartbreaking way to exit the postseason.

After a dominant first period that saw them build a commanding 3-0 lead over the Colorado Avalanche in Denver, the Wild seemed to shift gears—and not in a good way. They took their foot off the gas, sat back, and tried to protect their advantage rather than press for more. The result? A 4-3 overtime loss that stings all the more because of what could have been.

Minnesota fired 13 shots on net in the first period alone. Over the next two periods and overtime, they managed just seven more. Whether this was by design or simply a response to Colorado finding another gear remains unclear. But by the third period, the Wild were scrambling—clearing pucks blindly out of their zone, sending rushed passes that sailed too long or caromed hard off the boards.

The game-winner came from Brett Kulak, who buried a one-timer from the right circle just 3:52 into overtime during a chaotic shift. But the image that will linger is defenseman Jake Middleton, late in the third period, crouching to block a shot he had no realistic chance of stopping. At the tail end of a long, grueling shift spent mostly defending in his own zone, Middleton slid into position well outside the shot lane as Colorado superstar Nathan MacKinnon—unbothered by any opponent—wound up and fired.

High corner, near side. Tie game, 3-3, with just 1:23 left in regulation. You could almost hear the air rushing out of the balloon.

There was no rule preventing the Wild from winning in overtime, but at that point, it felt inevitable that the better team would prevail and move on. The Avalanche are now 8-1 this postseason, and it's hard to imagine either Vegas or Anaheim giving them much trouble in the Western Conference final.

For context, the Wild and Stars were the next-best teams in the West. Minnesota actually dispatched Dallas in the first round—a reminder that the NHL's playoff system, which rewards division winners rather than the actual best teams, can create some tough draws. The Wild certainly got one of those.

But let's be honest: they also didn't help themselves. Their dominant 5-1 victory in Game 3—Colorado's only playoff loss so far—proved this team had the talent to pull off an upset. With 40-goal scorers like Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov, plus elite defensemen in Brock Faber and Quinn Hughes, the pieces were there.

The problem? The Wild need to play a specific brand of hockey to win—just like almost every NHL team does. At their core, they are a forechecking team. When they abandon that identity and try to sit on a lead, especially against a juggernaut like Colorado, the results are predictable. And painful.