Chris Mueller key to Fire’s playoff hopes

Chris Mueller didn’t have his best game in a Fire jersey Wednesday at the New England Revolution. After getting stopped on a 22nd-minute penalty kick, Mueller was anonymous before being subbed out in the 71st minute of what turned out to be a 0-0 draw.

But the Fire know their flickering playoff hopes would be dead without Mueller.

“Since the moment Chris arrived — in the locker room, on the field, in the games — he’s just been a blessing to the team,” defender Jonathan Bornstein said. “I really enjoy playing with the guy. We get along really well off the field. Ever since he’s come into the group, we’ve had another element in the team we didn’t have before.”

A Schaumburg product, Mueller rose to stardom with Orlando City before jumping to Scottish side Hibernian in January. Mueller’s time in Scotland didn’t go well, and, after 15 appearances, he was acquired by the Fire in May.

Since then, Mueller has been the Fire’s best attacker with four goals and three assists in 19 games, turning out to be one of sporting director Georg Heitz’s best moves. If not for Mueller, the Fire would be hard-pressed to find consistent production. Xherdan Shaqiri’s impact has been blunted by his health issues, and attackers Kacper Przybylko and Jairo Torres have made minimal contributions.

Mueller’s pace and skill on the wing have stretched opposing defenses and created room for Fire attackers to generate chances.

Bornstein, who faced Mueller before he went to Europe, isn’t surprised by what he has seen since they became teammates. And Bornstein doesn’t think Mueller is playing with something to prove because he struggled in his brief time in Scotland.

That’s just how Mueller always has played.

“As long as he doesn’t lose that, he’ll have a long and illustrious career, and he’ll continue to get better throughout his career,” Bornstein said.

One concern about Mueller is the amount of soccer he has played this year. Unlike most of his teammates, Mueller didn’t have an offseason, and he might be showing signs of tiring.

The heavy workload is something coach Ezra Hendrickson is monitoring because if Mueller goes down — or if his productivity dips because of fatigue — the Fire will have few dependable attackers left.

That factor, and Mueller’s performance against the Revs, explains why he was replaced with 20 minutes left in a game that was there to be had.

“He’s a big part of our team, and we do have to be careful that, playing two seasons, we don’t cause injuries there because we’ve lost a lot of key players now,” Hendrickson said, “and we have to be careful we have enough players to finish the season.”

Beyond Mueller, the Fire attack has slowed. They haven’t scored since his goal in the 49th minute of a 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Union and have been blanked for the last 310 minutes.

Generating something, whether it’s from Mueller or someone else, is a must for the Fire (8-13-7, 31 points) as they try to prolong their season Saturday at the Columbus Crew (9-6-12, 39 points). With six games left, the Fire are five points out of a playoff spot and can’t afford any more quiet offensive games like the last three.

But if anybody’s going to score, Mueller still seems like a good bet.

“[Mueller] wears his heart on his sleeve,” Hendrickson said. “He’s a guy who’s going to go out and fight for you and put in the effort game in and game out.”