RALEIGH, N.C. – The Wild's 11-game point streak, which is the second-longest in franchise history, wasn't the only run to end Saturday.
A rigorous stretch of 20 road tests in 30 games finally finished with the 6-2 loss to the Hurricanes at PNC Arena, a challenging trek that has the Wild eager to get back to Xcel Energy Center.
"It's crazy," defenseman Ryan Suter said. "Travel wears on you, as much as we don't want to admit it. Now that it's over for a while, you can talk about it. But it grinds on you. You see it in guys' energy, and it's good to go home."
While the team did clear a major hurdle by nearly completing half of its road schedule in early December, it won't be too long before the team is back traveling.
After a three-game homestand – the team's longest to date, as it's played the fewest home contests in the NHL (10) – begins Tuesday against the Ducks, the Wild will start another three-game road trip next Sunday.
"It's been ridiculous," defenseman Matt Dumba said. "It is what it is. But definitely on the road this long, it's hard. It's hard. You come into good buildings, crazy fans like tonight against good teams. It's not easy to win in this league. I'm happy we got the four out of six points [on this trip], and we want to win this upcoming week. So we're going to rest up at home."
Once it returns to St. Paul, the Wild will have some questions to answer.
-Can it cut back on the top defensive pairing's workload?
