VANCOUVER CANUCKS VS MINNESOTA WILD 12/01/2020 LIVE 4:00 PM ET

The NHL season hasn't even hit the All-Star break, so the Minnesota Wild aren't in "must-win" territory.

Although, as the Wild prepare to play host to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday afternoon in Saint Paul, Minn., they are well aware that their fortunes must change in a hurry.

Sitting a half-dozen points behind the playoff pace, the Wild went from a red-hot squad from mid-November through mid-December, to middling -- with just four wins in their last 11 games (4-6-1). They are coming off a 2-1 road loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday.

"We're not in a position where we can win one, lose one," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "You gotta put a little string together. Look at Edmonton's putting a little string, Calgary's now putting a little string. If you don't put a string together, you're going to be left the last 25 games looking up with no chance."

Boudreau's squad is back in action following consecutive losses to the Flames. In the first, the Wild blew a pair of third-period leads last Sunday before falling 5-4 in a shootout. The most recent game saw them fail to score in the third period despite firing 14 shots on goal in the final frame.

"Are we going to look back on Game 82 and say it was this Calgary game that cost us? I don't know," goaltender Alex Stalock said. "But there's a point where we have to go on a little run here. We go back home now; we've got some conference games. It's our chance."

The Canucks arrive in Saint Paul, Minn., on the heels of Saturday's 6-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in which they scored four times in the third period to snap a two-game skid.

"It's huge for our group, especially on a road trip," forward Brock Boeser said. "You don't want to start a trip with three losses. We played more our style of game, more direct with the puck and shut it down defensively."

Vancouver had a seven-game winning streak snapped emphatically by losing games to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers by a combined 14-4 score in the first two outings of a five-game road trip. The win in Buffalo has the Canucks back in the mix for a Western Conference wild-card playoff spot.

"We played a full 60 minutes, we haven't done that for a little bit, and stepped it up the third period and pressed even harder," captain Bo Horvat said. "The pushback today gives us confidence going forward the rest of the road trip."

The Canucks end the road swing by facing the Winnipeg Jets, but up first is a return home to Minnesota for Boeser, whose game is heating up again having scored three goals in the last two games.

"I'm feeling really confident," Boeser said. "There's times when the puck doesn't go in the net and times when it does. Me and my linemates have to keep that determination and keep producing for our team."