Late night with Wild, Timberwolves: Maybe a Minnesota team can still make a playoff run

The Timberwolves opened the first round of the NBA playoffs in Denver. Hello, 9:30 p.m. start.

And, despite the Wild and Dallas Stars both playing home games in the Central time zone, the four-letter network scheduled that game to begin at 8:30 p.m., which was actually an 8:50 p.m. faceoff.

Fans here are now required to stay up late to watch their teams navigate playoff perils. Raise your hand if you dozed off at times Monday night while watching the epic tussle between the Wild and the former North Stars.

(Pauses to raise both hands off the keyboard.)

Both the Wolves and the Wild had opportunities to make playoff runs that compel us to alter our sleep schedules. Minnesota would stay up, too. We've waited too long to miss such a thing.

Nearly a generation of local fans have gone without watching the Wolves or Wild win multiple rounds in the postseason. The Wild's last run was 2002-03, when it reached the Western Conference finals before getting swept by Anaheim. A year later, the Wolves reached the Western Conference finals before losing in six games to the Lakers.

Since then, the Wild have won two playoff rounds in 11 tries. This year marks just the Wolves' third trip to the playoffs since then, so far without advancing.

Can the Wolves or Wild make things interesting this time? After just one postseason game, the teams already are at different ends of the hope spectrum.

Denver didn't need to be at its best to throttle the Wolves in Game 1 on Sunday. The Wolves provided the Nuggets momentum through all the buckets they missed. Minnesota scored 24 points in the first quarter . Who knew they would score 56 points over the next three quarters?

Their mission for Game 2, if they choose to accept it, is to space the floor better, look to make the extra pass and get back on defense. And getting back on defense means not complaining to officials about non-calls on the other end of the court while opponents take off on the break. Beating Denver, a well-rounded team led by MVP Nikola Jokic, requires focus on both ends.

But the Wolves have underachieved this season and are undermanned at the moment. This might not be their year. Again.

That leaves us with the Wild, who landed the first blow in their series against the Stars to throw a packed American Airlines Center into stunned silence.

The Wild knew at the beginning of the season that, in the post-Kevin Fiala-era, they would have to bump and grind more. They have slowly gotten bigger, through trades for Jake Middleton last season and Ryan Reaves this season, to form a thump force with Marcus Foligno. They can bang with teams now, have two capable goaltenders and have developed the mentality to prevail in one-goal games.

Game 2 with the Stars is set for Wednesday. There's a checklist of things the Wild can do to ensure they go up 2-0 and raise the possibility they can get out of the first round.

After making 51 saves Monday, goaltender Filip Gustavsson deserves an encore in Game 2. The Wild need to be better in the faceoff circle — Dallas scored its goals three and six seconds after winning faceoffs. They need to deal with former Wild defenseman Ryan Suter, who's getting cheap shots in on Kirill Kaprizov. Matt Boldy and Marcus Johansson must keep sniping.

Both the Wild and Wolves are talented. Both have veterans who are postseason battle-tested and know how to move on from a tough loss. Only one team has to face that test in Game 2. The other is the Wild, who can make a statement with a win over Dallas on Wednesday — and make late-night viewing worth it.