Minnesota Lynx face daunting schedule with 12th straight playoff appearance on the line

The Lynx have an uphill battle with eight games remaining.

The Minnesota Lynx got off to a slow start this season, but after a recent hot streak they find themselves in the middle of the WNBA's playoff picture.

Minnesota started the season 3-13 as they reshuffled their roster with the release of Angel McCoughtry and Sylvia Fowles went down with a knee injury. When Fowles returned on June 23, the Lynx won seven of their next 10 games -- including wins over the top-seeded Chicago Sky and second-seeded Las Vegas Aces.

That momentum hasn't held up as Minnesota lost its past two games, including a 94-84 loss to the Connecticut Sun on Friday night. With eight games to play, the Lynx are two games back of the Phoenix Mercury and Dallas Wings, who are tied for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Making things even more difficult for the Lynx is that all eight of their remaining games are against teams currently in a playoff spot. Those numbers get worse when you dissect the schedule.

Four of those games will take place against the third-seeded Sun and the fourth-seeded Seattle Storm. While Minnesota will also have a chance to gain ground with one game each against the Los Angeles Sparks, the Atlanta Dream and Mercury, they'll play five of their final eight on the road including an Aug. 3 matchup in Seattle and an Aug. 14 finale in Connecticut.

By comparison, the other teams in the race will feast off games against the eleventh-seeded New York Liberty and the last-place Indiana Fever. The Los Angeles Sparks and Mercury will each play two games against the Liberty while Atlanta has two against New York and one against the Indiana.

The real winner here is the Wings, who will play four combined games against the Liberty and Fever down the stretch.

It creates a daunting task for the Lynx, who are down starting power forward Damiris Dantas after she left the team earlier this week. With a tough schedule ahead, Minnesota will need to start earning victories to make their 12th straight trip to the playoffs.