NHLStats about the Minnesota Wild, who are headed to the postseason for a third consecutive season, the ninth time in the past 10 campaigns and 12th time in franchise history. Minnesota, who needed only one point to lock up a spot, became the 11th team to clinch a berth in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs with their win against San Jose on April 17.
1. The Wild (2000-01) will look to become the first expansion franchise from either the NHL, NBA, NFL or MLB to play its inaugural season in the 2000s or later and win a championship. Only two clubs that have entered the NHL since the start of the 1990s have won a Stanley Cup: the Lightning (2004, 2020 & 2021) and Ducks (2007).

2. After leading the Wild in goals and points en route to the postseason as a rookie in 2021, Kirill Kaprizov will vie for his first Stanley Cup Playoffs series win after setting franchise records in 2021-22. To date, only eight Wild players have skated in the postseason in each of their first two or more NHL campaigns - with teammate Jonas Brodin (6 from 2012-13 to 2017-18) tied for the longest such stretch for the club.
   3. Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin each have played in 55 career playoff games, all with the Wild - trailing only longtime captain Mikko Koivu (59 GP) on the
   franchise list
   . Spurgeon, in his second season as captain, and Brodin are set to tie Koivu for the most
   years in the postseason for Minnesota
   (9). Only Marc-Andre Fleury (162 GP) and Mats Zuccarello (84 GP) have more games of playoff experience on the Wild roster.
   4. Entering the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, 14 active players have made each of their first nine or more career postseason trips with their current franchise; Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin are poised to join the list.
   5. Marc-Andre Fleury, whose
   15 consecutive years in the playoffs
   are already the most among goaltenders in NHL history, can become the
   13th player of any position to make at least 16 straight appearances
   - a benchmark last reached a dozen years ago by Kris Draper. The last before Draper was Nicklas Lidstrom, who hit 16 straight seasons in 2007-08 and stretched that run to a record-tying 20 straight trips in 2011-12. Fleury, who sits two victories shy of tying Grant Fuhr for third place in
   Stanley Cup Playoffs history
   , can become the fifth goaltender to make at least 16
   postseason appearances at any point in his career
   .
   6. Wild general manager Bill Guerin acquired Marc-Andre Fleury ahead of the trade deadline and Alex Goligoski during the offseason, reuniting with his former Penguins teammates. Guerin played alongside each of those players in Pittsburgh, winning a Cup with them in 2009 when he collected 7-8-15 during the postseason (24 GP). Fleury and Goligoski are the only Stanley Cup winners on Minnesota's roster.
   7. The Wild could become the first team to acquire a goaltender on deadline day and have that netminder earn the Stanley Cup-clinching victory later that season. Only three champions in that time frame have even acquired a goaltender on deadline day: the 1981 Islanders (Jari Kaarela), 1988 Oilers (Bill Ranford; won Cup) and 2011 Bruins (Anton Khudobin).
   8. While Alex Goligoski has his name on the Stanley Cup, he has yet to touch the ice in the Final (playing only two playoff games during Pittsburgh's run in 2009). The only Wild players who have had a taste of the championship series are Marc-Andre Fleury (18 GP), Frederick Gaudreau (6 GP), Mats Zuccarello (5 GP) and Jon Merrill (3 GP) - the only clubs either headed to the postseason or still in contention with fewer players with Final experience are Toronto (3) and Winnipeg (3).
   9. Matt Boldy, who ranks among the top three in franchise history for points in a season by a rookie, can become the
   eighth Wild rookie to score a goal
   in the postseason. Only Erik Haula (4), Matt Dumba (2), Kirill Kaprizov (2) and Nico Sturm (2) have tallied multiple playoff goals as a rookie for Minnesota.
   10. The Wild head to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the ninth time since 2012-13, trailing only the Penguins (10, including 2022) for the most in that span. St. Louis also has nine in that span (including 2022), while Washington is on the verge of its ninth in that time frame.