Neal: As Wild and Timberwolves take their winter breaks, only one has laurels to rest on

The Wild are roughly two-thirds through their schedule, are established as one of the better teams in the NHL and are set up for a strong finish.

The Wolves are roughly two-thirds through their schedule, but we don’t know how good they are, and they seem destined for a play-in game one year after reaching the final four.

As both teams pause their regular seasons — the Wild for the 4 Nations Face-Off and the Wolves for the NBA All-Star Game — the state of their teams couldn’t be more different.

The Wild have thrived in coach John Hynes' first full season as head coach. He has drilled down on details and steered his team through myriad injuries, most notably to superstar Kirill Kaprizov. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson has revived his career. When Brock Faber assisted on Matt Boldy’s game-winning goal against Finland on Thursday, it showcased two members of the Wild’s young core.

Adversity has shaped this team. The Wild have won without key players and in challenging road environments. It’s head-scratching that they are straddling .500 at Xcel Energy Center. Perhaps they should stay in local hotels and bus to home games. But they are in range of a top-four postseason seed, provided Kaprizov returns from injury in a few weeks.

“Everyone is buying into what Hynes is selling,” local hockey analyst Pat Micheletti said. “And they are not straying from it.”

While the Wolves still have one of the top scoring defenses in the league, they are seventh in a competitive Western Conference. Everyone knew that the Knicks got the best player when the Wolves sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, but the optics have been awful as Towns is having a career year and it has taken longer than expected to integrate Randle and DiVincenzo.

Now that Randle is injured, there’s a reliable scorer missing, problematic in a league in which teams usually have a triumvirate of scorers.

And the Wolves have dropped too many games to inferior opponents. While the Wolves have a few notable wins, like Thursday against Oklahoma City, those have been canceled out by maddening losses like the night before against a Bucks team without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

The Wolves have time to surge, and they have a favorable schedule after Feb. 24. But once a team gets two-thirds into a schedule, it seems too late to change who you are.

A year ago, the Wild were hard to watch as they failed to reach the postseason while the Wolves were surging toward a rare playoff run. Now the franchises are headed in different directions.

Former Gophers coach Glen Mason was the coach at Kansas in 1991 when he recruited a quarterback prospect from Blue Valley High School in Overland Park, Kan., named Brian Schottenheimer.

Mason turned to Brian’s father, then-Chiefs coach Marty, at a game and informed him he was going to offer his son a scholarship. Schottenheimer lasted one year at Kansas before transferring to Florida.

“He said, ‘I don’t know if I will ever play there,‘ ” Mason said, ‘but I have a goal. I want to be a coach in the National Football League. And I think my exposure to Steve Spurrier and his passing game will help me better to get there than staying here.’

“I didn’t quite agree with that.”

Schottenheimer began his coaching career in 1997. He finally realized his dream last month when hired by Dallas.

“And now he’s the head coach of the Cowboys,” Mason said. “So best of luck to him.”

When Twins President Derek Falvey was given more payroll to fill out his spring training roster, I was hoping a few bucks would attract an Anthony Rizzo/Justin Turner type of first baseman who could play at least capable defense and provide veteran savvy to the clubhouse. Perhaps that was wishful thinking, as the Twins signed Ty France to a nonguaranteed contract to complete their offseason.

The Twins have seven players who can play first base in camp, including Edouard Julien and Jose Miranda. This means there is going to be a significant dropoff in defense there following the departure of Gold Glove-winning Carlos Santana to rival Cleveland.

As soon as the first throw in the dirt caroms to the camera well, the Twins are going to regret not finding a suitable replacement.

My suggestion: Start with Willi Castro, the most flexible Twins fielder since Cesar Tovar.

• Either Christian Vázquez or Chris Paddack will be traded by the Twins before Opening Day.

• The Gophers women’s basketball team will finish the regular season with at least 22 victories, which would be their most since 2017-18. That includes a victory Sunday against Oregon.