ST. PAUL, Minn. — Back-to-back games against the same team this late in the season has the look of a playoff primer.

The opener had the feel, too.

After an early deficit, late fumble and plenty of pushing and shoving in between, the Wild were denied, 5-2, by the Devils on Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center, costing them in the standings.

Earlier in the evening, the Blues won their ninth straight game to tie the Wild in points at 87. The Wild only held on to the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference because they’ve played one fewer game.

Their home-and-home concludes Monday in New Jersey, where the Wild begin a three-game road trip. Just eight games remain in the regular season.

Trailing 3-1 after Nico Hischier scored his second of the game 3 minutes, 3 seconds into the third period, the Wild moved closer on a Ryan Hartman shot at 5:22, but their rally fizzled when Hischier completed a hat trick on the power play with 5:10 remaining to overshadow Marcus Foligno’s Gordie Howe hat trick.

Tomas Tatar added a fifth with 3:14 to go.

This was the Wild’s third loss in their past four games, and they fell behind during the first minute.

Goaltender Filip Gustavsson stopped the first shot he faced, but the rebound kicked right to Hischier for the put-back only 29 seconds after the opening faceoff.

By 5:46, the Wild trailed 2-0 after another rebound caromed directly to a Devils player, and this time Paul Cotter banked the puck in off Gustavsson’s right leg.

But the Wild answered back before the first ended.

With 3:29 to go, Foligno tipped in a shot from captain Jared Spurgeon, a deflection from between the faceoff circles that was just the beginning of a busy night for Foligno.

He was cross-checked by New Jersey’s Johnathan Kovacevic late in the first and after falling to the ice, and Foligno was also sent to the penalty box for embellishment — a bizarre call since Kovacevic was punished for the cross-check. The officials were booed, including when they returned for the second period, and they met with Wild coach John Hynes before the second started.

In just his second game back from missing five injured, Foligno continued to be a factor, getting in on the forecheck and then checking Brian Dumoulin into the boards. Kovacevic immediately approached Foligno after the hit, and the two dropped the gloves. The Wild actually received a power play from the sequence, with Kovacevic getting dinged with an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty, but they blanked and went 0 for 2 overall on the power play.

The rest of the period was a scrum-fest, both sides getting tangled up after whistles — including Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom, who had 22 saves. Gustavsson finished with 28.

New Jersey had a chance to capitalize before the second period wrapped when the Devils peeled off for a 3-on-1 against Spurgeon, but Jesper Bratt’s shot was blocked by his teammate Timo Meier.

But the Devils didn’t miss when Hischier sent another shot toward Gustavsson off the rush early in the third, the puck clipping Spurgeon before smacking into both posts and flying into the net.

Just 2:09 later, the Wild again climbed within a goal after Foligno redirected a Zach Bogosian point shot off the post and Hartman buried the loose puck.

With a goal, assist and fight, Foligno has four Gordie Howe hat tricks; this was his first since Feb. 22, 2021, at San Jose.

Despite playing the night before, getting shut out 4-0 by the Jets, New Jersey didn’t fade late.

Instead, the Devils kept the puck in Wild territory late while on their lone power play, and that’s when Hischier picked up his third goal.

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