The Minnesota Wild, who have won six of their last nine games (three straight) and are in first place in the Northwest Division, must wait until Sunday to learn who they will play in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Defenseman Keith Carney joined the Wild for the 2006-07 season and has played in 85 playoff games in his NHL career that began in 1991-92. He told Sports Headliners recently that he likes the team’s recent play and mental approach.
There was a stretch in late February when the team lost a shootout game and then three straight in regulation. There have been other times of frustration and coach Jacques Lemaire has been demanding of the team and individuals, sometimes in the newspapers. Doesn’t matter, according to the 38-year-old Carney, who was asked about team chemistry. “It’s very strong,” he said. “We get along well. You have to. You have to play hard for each other and we do that. On the ice you can see that guys are helping each other. …”
The Wild have a home game tomorrow (Thursday) night against Calgary and then close the regular season at Colorado on Sunday. Carney, a defenseman, hopes for more results like the recent games that have sent the Wild into first place in the division and third place in the Western Conference with 95 points.
“We’re only positive at this point,” he said. “We know that we’re very close. We can play with any team. We’ve made that commitment to play our game, play hard defensively. …The guys are excited not only the way we’ve been playing lately but how we’ve had to play this last stretch to get ourselves the best possible playoff position. Those things are going to help us going into the playoffs.”
The Wild has a mix of experienced players like Carney and forward Brian Rolston (52 career playoff games) who play with younger talent such as defenseman Brent Burns (five playoff games) and forward James Sheppard (none). Carney is “pretty optimistic” about the Wild’s playoff chances and not repeating last year’s first round playoff exit, praising the team’s defense, power play, penalty killing and goal tending.
“Experience is a big factor,” he said. “We have a lot of older guys that have been in the post-season, that played many years in the league, and know what it takes. And also the young guys that are gaining experience from last post-season. Last year we didn’t get the result we wanted but we battled hard and we had a tough first round opponent in Anaheim. The experience that the young guys gained from that will definitely bode well going into this post-season.”