While it's rare for Minnesota to play all three teams on a single road trip -- its often split up over two separate trips with a flight to Boston or Philadelphia mixed in -- the three wins at Barclays Center, Prudential Center and Madison Square Garden made franchise history: It was first time the Wild has swept road games against those teams in a single season.
"Anytime we can do something we haven't done before it's pretty cool," said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau.
Trips to Brooklyn (or Long Island), Newark (or East Rutherford) and Manhattan have been exercises in futility for the Wild over the years. Prior to its trip last week, Minnesota had gone just 9-18-4 in the New York area in team history.
But the Wild haven't been the only team to have its issues there.
Just one other team in the Central Division has or will play all three New York teams in a single trip; the Dallas Stars, who did it in mid-December. The Stars won the first two games of the trip against the Rangers and Islanders, but was unable to finish the sweep when it lost 5-2 to the Devils a week before Christmas.
The St. Louis Blues are the only Central team to, like the Wild, win all three games in the Big Apple, pulling off the New York doubleheader on Oct. 9-10 before heading back and winning at New Jersey on Nov. 7.
Every other team in the division has lost at least once in their trip through the area.
Nashville went 2-1-0, losing at Madison Square Garden in October before winning at New Jersey on Jan. 25 and in overtime in Brooklyn earlier this month.
Winnipeg has two of the three New York games remaining, but lost 5-2 to the Islanders in its only trip to the area on Dec. 23
Colorado began its season with a 4-2 win on Broadway against the Rangers but lost to the Devils two nights later and in Brooklyn in early November.
Chicago has won once (Jan. 3 versus the Rangers) and lost once (at the Devils on Dec. 23) with one game (in Brooklyn ) on March 24.
In all, Central teams have gone 12-6 in those buildings, with the Wild and Blues accounting for half of those wins on their own. The other five teams have combined for six wins.
"It's huge. Not often are you going to come through New York and get all three wins," said Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk, who earned wins against the Islanders and Rangers. "Right now with the playoff race, I say it every day, but we need every single point we can get. To be able to come through a tough road trip and get all six points is huge for us."
Related:
- Blackhawks inch closer to full strength
- All-Star Game highlights Central's star power
