Even if the Wild didn't evolve into the franchise's most successful version through the regular season a year ago — a surge that only seems to validate a culture insistent on excellence — expectations in the aftermath would have been the same.
"The actual goal is to be best at everything," coach Bruce Boudreau said.
With 39 points from a 18-15-3 showing that ranks one point shy of the final wild-card berth in the Western Conference, the Wild has yet to achieve that status as it skidded into the leaguewide holiday break having dropped four of its past five games.
Its results to date have played out like a game of chutes and ladders, an up-and-down rhythm completely out of tune with the harmony that defined the historic march through 2016-17.
And although the roster has changed since then, there's still optimism the Wild rediscovers its previous prowess and morphs into a consistent competitor after it resumes action Wednesday by playing host to Dallas.
"I'm positive we haven't hit our stride," Boudreau said. "I'm sure that somewhere down the road there's a six- to 10-game winning streak somewhere."
The steadiness that fosters success on a regular basis is what the Wild has been lacking most thus far.
While the team's capped its longest losing streak at three games, it hasn't strung together more than four consecutive victories. That's happened twice, but the rest of the wins have been packaged as pairs or surrounded by defeats — a stop-and-go pace that makes it difficult to climb the standings in the ultracompetitive Central Division.