Myers: Historic season comes to a sudden, stunning halt

ST. LOUIS -- Six days.
That's all it takes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, to go from top of the world, think you're advancing for the first time in seven years, imagining a matchup against one of the NHL's best, wondering what a packed Xcel Energy Center would be like for a Second Round game … six days separates that from the utter despair that comes with the stunning, bitter start to another offseason.

It really is hard to fathom how a team - this team, specifically - can go from how it felt following a 5-2 win here in this building in Game 3, taking a 2-1 lead in a best-of-7 series, all the while, exorcising some big-time demons in the process.
That's where Minnesota was just six sleeps prior to where it found itself late Thursday night; shaking hands with the St. Louis Blues at center ice of a rocking Enterprise Center, The Beach Boys' "Fun, Fun, Fun," providing a final drumbeat on this historic, mesmerizing, incredible… but shockingly finished, season.
"It's tough to put into words right now just how close this group was and how positive the regular season was," said Wild forward Marcus Foligno. "It's just disappointing because we just feel like we were right there with them and played a hard series and had a lot of positivity around this team this year and thought that we could do something special. So, when you don't get the job done, especially in crunch time and time where you do it and fall through, it's disappointing for sure."
In the aftermath of the Game 3 win, a dominating effort where the Wild dismantled the Blues, one where St. Louis came out bloodied and wounded, Minnesota sure looked like the wagon that ran roughshod on the Western Conference.
The Blues were down half their blueline and were leaning on four defensemen with a combined resume featuring barely more than a dozen playoff games.
But never underestimate the heart of a champion.
Ryan O'Reilly, the Blues' captain and the Conn Smythe Trophy recipient as playoff MVP during St. Louis' Stanley Cup run in 2019, simply willed his shorthanded club to a rebound victory in Game 4.
It felt like a missed opportunity in the immediate moments after that game, and the Wild was never able to find its mojo after that.
The Blues swept into St. Paul, stole home ice back in Game 5, then weathered an early push from Minnesota to take advantage of that home cooking in Game 6, denying the Wild even the opportunity to host a Game 7 for the first time in franchise history.
That's the kind of championship pedigree the Wild is trying to build under General Manager Bill Guerin, and that's where it feels it's trending.
Unfortunately, for impatient fans, players and coaches alike, it's not there just yet.
"You can't say enough about the guys in our room and how special they are and how special of a group this was," said Wild goaltender Cam Talbot. "I think that's what stings the most but this team has been building something special this year and this was another step forward."
Minnesota's 2021-22 journey is exactly why the disappointment and sadness was palpable in the postgame aftermath. This year's version of the Wild was memorable in every way, from the way it won games on the ice, to the way - in the words of Evason - loved one another off of it.
"We've only seen that tightness. There's no individuals. There's no bitching on the bench. There's no, 'I should get this ice time; I should be on the power play,'" Evason said. "They play for each other and that's what's so disappointing."
This was arguably the best, most talented professional team the State of Hockey has ever assembled. The hopes and dreams of a first-ever Stanley Cup seemed really tangible for the first time in almost 20 years.
For whatever reason; the stick-to-itiveness, the resiliency and the sheer will that has defined a Wild team - this one in particular - one that had won more games and accumulated more points than any Wild team before it, just couldn't be summoned.
And in a matter of six days, of a season that began back in September - one that welcomed back Wild fans with enough memories to help fill the hole left behind from spectator-less games during an empty COVID-19 campaign - it's gone. It's over.
And in a business like today's pro sports world, it'll never be the same again. That's just the nature of the beast.
"When you're that close, it's like, 'What's going to happen now?'" Evason said. "We don't know what's going to happen or if we're all going to be together again or not. It's tough."
All the Wild can do now is turn its eyes towards an uncertain future, one rife with questions about a salary cap strain, who will be back, who Guerin will add in an attempt to take the a step or two further next season.
While questions abound, one thing is certain: the Wild has no interest in maintaining the status quo, because ultimately, as the slogan says and as Guerin reiterated before this season, it's all about winning.
"That's the toughest part. You bring in a lot of great guys and unfortunately with business that's the way it is. Hell you even win it and there's guys that get moved, too," Foligno said. "I think the positive thing is, that no matter what we built something here this year. And I think we have to grow in it. No one in this organization is thinking about taking a step back. That's not what we're thinking about.
"I think we have to focus on the strides we took, the culture we built. This is a negative right now. But the seven months or eight months of hockey we played was a huge, huge positive, a huge, huge stepping stone for this organization.
"I think this room is unbelievable. And I think Billy or whatever he's going to add to it it's going to be a great culture for anyone coming in here. Changes have to be made. I get it. But the mindset doesn't change. That's the way we have to go into the offseason, unfortunately, and really focus on that, and know that next year we're going to have a sour taste in our mouth from this."