Wild shut out 4-0 by St. Louis; postseason opponent still undetermined

ST. LOUIS – The jumbotron anchoring Enterprise Center kept track of the action between the Wild and Blues while the out-of-town scoreboard determined how significant it would be.

And before the first period was over, the game was facing a downgrade to irrelevant.

A 4-0 loss to St. Louis didn't change the Wild's spot in the standings, and a win wouldn't have either.

The Avalanche made it impossible for the Wild to climb into second and snare home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs after its blowout win against the Kings, an outcome that locked the Wild into third place in the West Division and a matchup with the second seed.

But the Wild will have to wait until Thursday to learn whether it'll be in Colorado or Vegas for Game 1.

Since the Golden Knights also won, the top two berths in the division won't be decided until after the Avalanche wraps up its regular season with another game against the Kings.

If Colorado wins, the Avalanche will claim the division and hand the Wild off to Vegas. But if the Avalanche loses, Colorado will finish second and take on the Wild.

The Wild will also be back in action Thursday for a rematch with the Blues in both teams' regular-season finale, the Wild's last chance to go into the playoffs with some momentum after a spotty showing on Wednesday.

David Perron had a goal and two assists and Torey Krug chipped in a goal and assist, leading a St. Louis offense that exploited the front of the Wild's net.

But Blues backup goalie Ville Husso was the best player on the ice, making 31 saves for the first shutout of his career.

Some of his strongest work came in the first period; after blocking a one-timer from Ryan Hartman off a Kirill Kaprizov pass, Husso also kept out Matt Dumba's attempt the rebound.

The St. Louis players in front of him got better as the period progressed, rewarding him with a 2-0 lead after one.

Ivan Barbashev buried the rebound off a sharp-angle shot by Perron at 12 minutes, 54 seconds before Jaden Schwartz redirected in a Jordan Kyrou feed at 14:40.

Not much changed in the second.

Krug buried a behind-the-net pass from captain Ryan O'Reilly at 9:56 and at 13:10, the Blues were up 4-0 after a shot from beyond the circles by Perron eluded Wild goalie Cam Talbot. At the other end, Husso remained airtight; another steady sequence came when he fended off multiple tries in-tight by Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello; Kaprizov had his career-long point streak end after six games.

Overall, Husso made 10 stops against Kaprizov and Zuccarello alone. Talbot ended up with 23 in what could be his final game before the playoffs. If that's the case, he finished the regular season 19-8-5. Although he's 5-1-2 in his last eight road games and 8-2-3 since April 7, Talbot has given up four or more goals in four of his past six starts.

This was just the fourth time this season the Wild has been shut out, and the team blanked on three power plays; St. Louis didn't receive a single power play.

And while the outcome didn't affect the hierarchy in the division, it does put the Wild at the crossroads of deciding what's more important: rest or rhythm.

The team could keep some key players idle on Thursday since the game won't change the standings. But if the ensuing lineup struggles, the Wild could embark on the playoffs with a losing streak in tow.

Either way, time is running out to prepare for the postseason.