Wild has been one of the NHL’s worst-scoring teams without Kirill Kaprizov

The Wild’s sputtering offense is slowing them in the standings.

In the 10 games since the 4 Nations Face-Off break, they’ve accrued only nine points (4-5-1) while tying for the fewest goals in the NHL with 19.

They are the lowest-scoring team from February on, winning their first two games without injured star Kirill Kaprizov before getting shut out twice in a row.

Only Edmonton and Columbus have picked up fewer points than the Wild’s 13 in that span among the teams currently occupying a playoff spot.

“Hockey,” goaltender Filip Gustavsson said. “Sometimes you score a lot, and sometimes you don’t score.”

But this pinch could pay off in the long run.

How?

By preparing the Wild for the high-stakes hockey that is the postseason.

“The last couple of games have been playoff-like games, so that’s what you see,” captain Jared Spurgeon said. “Everything tightens up, and there’s a lot less space out there. So, it’s not a bad thing to be playing this way.”

Still, the downturn has its downside.

During the decline in goals, the Wild have dropped to a wild-card seed in the Western Conference after valiantly holding off Colorado for the first five weeks of Kaprizov’s ongoing absence as he recovers from surgery on a lower-body injury.

The Wild have added just one point in the past three games in which their goaltenders have surrendered only two regulation goals, a point that came from the 3-2 overtime loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday.

“The charm about being a goalie,” Gustavsson said. “You have no room for error. Like if you make a mistake, it’s usually a goal backwards.

“There’s no place for errors right now because we’re trying to find more goals.”

Those margins are reflected in the results, with the Wild’s last six games decided by a goal or two from an empty-netter, and they’re reinforced by the team’s defending.

They’ve been mostly clean in front of Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury, playing with an awareness that’s indicative of their situation: Because the Wild are having a tough time scoring, they can’t afford to get careless in their own end.

For many stretches, they’re not, and that also shows how the Wild have stuck to their style; even though they’re not capitalizing on offense, they’re not sacrificing their defensive foundation to search for a spark.

“We talk about it as a group in here that we’ve gotta do it the right way,” Spurgeon said. “It’s gonna come. We’re working hard. We’re playing the right way, and everything starts with defense first anyways. So, we’ve gotta start with that, and then it gets to the offensive zone.”

Already, these reps are showing up on special teams.

After denying both Colorado power plays in the 2-1 shootout win on Tuesday, the Wild penalty kill went 3-for-3 vs. New York. The power play was responsible for both goals against the Rangers, the third time in the past four games it’s supplied all the team’s offense — this while both the PP and PK are missing key players.

Aside from Kaprizov being out, the power play’s net-front presence Joel Eriksson Ek is still on the mend after getting sidelined because of a lower-body injury. Same with defenseman Jonas Brodin, who has resumed skating.

With the PK a work in progress throughout the season and the PP reconfiguring without Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek, any progress is significant but especially this close to the playoffs when the special-teams battle gets magnified. Just look at the Wild’s last playoff series vs. Dallas two years ago when the Stars eliminated the Wild in six games after scoring nine power play goals compared to four for the Wild.

That’s why as much as the Wild are struggling to win while they’re in this funk, they’re still honing habits that could best serve them when their season is on the line.

“We’re playing in tight games,” coach John Hynes said. “We’re conditioning ourselves to play down the stretch in intense games that matter and mean something, and when you play in those games, you have to have a heightened focus. You have to have a high compete level. You have to understand every puck matters, the details of the game. So for me, it’s a real encouraging process for us because we’re doing the right things.

“You’re not getting rewarded for it. But on the flip side of that, we’re committed to playing the right game. We don’t crack. We stay with it. We do the right thing, and that’s ultimately what you need to win.”