from Michael Russo of the Star Tribune,

Even by Minnesota standards, the Wild is in the midst of one epic free-fall.

For nearly three months, the Wild could do no wrong, playing consistent hockey, never even losing two games in a row.

But while the Chicago Blackhawks have taken their game to a new level, so has the Wild — only in stumbling, bumbling fashion while seeing its once nine-point lead in the Western Conference and Central Division on Feb. 18 turn into a five-point deficit on March 18.

The Wild's March Freeze continued Saturday night when the New York Rangers, the best road team in the NHL yet playing for the second time in 24 hours, still beat the Wild 3-2 in front of 19,337 fans — the season's largest announced crowd at Xcel Energy Center.

The loss was the Wild's seventh in nine games and, for the first time this season, fourth in a row.

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