With their hard-fought victory over Pittsburgh on Friday, the Wild pulled within three points of St. Louis for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff position. Before the clock struck 3 p.m. on Saturday, that gain was wiped out.

So were temporary two-point gains on Calgary and Dallas, with Nashville, Seattle and Los Angeles yet to start their Saturday games.

This is where the Wild find themselves. If they’re lucky enough to string their postseason hopes out long enough, it will be like this for the next two months. Because while Minnesota can still control its own destiny by winning, so can the five teams ahead of them for the West’s two wild card spots.

Friday night’s 3-2 victory over the Penguins at Xcel Energy Center was a complete team effort that included a marvelous night in net by Marc-Andre Fleury, celebrated before puck drop for playing 1,000 NHL games and moving into second place on the NHL career wins list.

“The guys looked good,” Fleury said after earning his 553rd NHL victory. “We battled hard all night long. Didn’t matter when they (tied the game), too; we just kept pushing. It’s good.”

It was good, all around, and it will have to be the way Minnesota plays for the vast majority of their remaining 31 regular season games if the Wild are to stay alive for their fourth consecutive playoff appearance. Their next game is Monday night in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights, fourth in the West with 68 points, 17 more than Minnesota.

The Wild have won two straight since returning from an eight-day break, four points that would have meant a lot more had they taken care of business against Nashville and Anaheim before All-Star Game week. Instead, they blew a chance to pull within two points of the Predators and a wild-card spot, then were somnambulatory throughout a 2-1 loss to a Ducks team that entered the game with just 16 wins.

The Wild beat the Blackhawks, the NHL’s worst team, 2-1 on Wednesday in Chicago.

“In general, I’d say the Nashville, Anaheim and Chicago (games) were probably not, I think, the standard of play, the standard of competitiveness, the commitment you need in hard areas of the ice,” coach John Hynes said after Friday’s victory. “Tonight, we had that. It’s nice we had it and found a way to win the game.

“Now, that game has to be more consistent and more reliable. We’ve got to be ready and committed to play with that intensity level, that work ethic, every night.”

Twenty of the Wild’s next 22 games are against conference rivals, 16 against teams ahead of them in the standings — and 11 against the five teams they have a chance to overtake for a wild card spot.

The margin for error is a razor’s edge, but it’s there nonetheless.

“It was a great win overalL,” forward Matt Boldy said after registering a goal and assist against the Penguins. “I think everyone had an impact. There weren’t any passengers. And that’s a step in the right direction, for sure.”

Foligno’s status unclear

One open issue after Friday night’s victory is the condition of Marcus Foligno, who left the game with an apparent injury late in the second period and was examined by head trainer John Worley.

Foligno, who had been playing a strong game, started the third period on a penalty kill shift but played only 11 seconds before heading back into the tunnel. After the game, Hynes was asked for the status of his dressing room leader.

“I don’t know yet,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s serious or not serious. We’ll see tomorrow.”

The Wild were off Saturday and had no update.

Horn issue

Friday night’s game was inexplicably interrupted twice by the game horn sounding for no apparent reason, about a minute apart in the second period.

The Xcel Energy Center PA announcer called it an issue with the game clock, but Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said he was never given an explanation. The second time it went off, the Penguins were on a power play with the puck in the high slot, and lost the ensuing faceoff.

“We were going, but it’s the same for both teams,” Pens center Sidney Crosby said. “Obviously, it would be nice if it didn’t happen on our power play, but it’s something you have to deal with sometimes — and we had our chances. Unfortunately, we didn’t find a way.”

Fleury, known for pranks on teammates, and former teammates, was asked if he was responsible.

“It wasn’t me, no,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t have that (kind of) pull around the rink.”

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