Minnesota Wild (37-16-10) @ Colorado Avalanche (42-10-9)
Noon MT | Ball Arena | Watch: TNT, TruTV, HBO Max | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)
After a perfect 3-0-0 road trip, the Avalanche returns home for a two-game homestand beginning on Sunday against the Minnesota Wild. This is the fourth and final regular-season meeting between the Central Division foes, as the Wild won 3-2 in a shootout on November 28th in Minnesota and 5-2 in Denver on February 26th, while the Avs picked up a 5-1 win in St. Paul on December 21st.
Latest Result (COL): COL 5, DAL 4 (SO)
Latest Result (MIN): MIN 4, VGK 2
A Colorado Comeback
Valeri Nichushkin’s game-tying goal with 15 seconds remaining in regulation along with his shootout tally helped the Avalanche defeat the Dallas Stars 5-4 at American Airlines Center on Friday to snap Dallas’ 10-game win streak. Martin Necas posted a goal and three assists, including the 400th point of his career while Nathan MacKinnon registered a tally and two helpers. Additionally, Cale Makar recorded a goal and an assist, and Gabriel Landeskog recorded the 600th point of his career with a helper. In net for the Avs, Scott Wedgewood made a relief appearance and stopped all 10 shots he faced in 41:01 of game action and made two saves in the shootout. Colorado’s special teams made a huge impact in the game, as the power play went 2/5 and the penalty kill went ¾, including a five-on-three kill in the third period.
Makar opened the scoring on the power play at 3:33 of the first period with his 19th goal of the season via a right-circle wrist shot set up by MacKinnon’s cross-ice feed. Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen tied the game on the power play with a wrist shot from the high slot at 7:11 of the first period. The Stars took the lead at 10:39 of the opening frame when Wyatt Johnston scored via a shot from the left circle. At 16:07 of the first period, Justin Hryckowian doubled Dallas’ lead with a shot from the bottom of the right circle. MacKinnon cut Colorado’s deficit in half on the power play at 19:58 of the first period via a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle.
At 1:52 of the second period, Jamie Benn gave the Stars a 4-2 lead with a shot from the doorstep. Necas made it a 4-3 game at 8:06 of the middle frame with his 28th goal of the season via a right-circle shot off the rush assisted by MacKinnon and Landeskog. While playing six-on-five with the Avs’ net empty, Nichushkin scored his 13th goal of the season to tie the game at 19:45 of the third period via a right-circle shot. In the shootout, Nichushkin and Necas scored for the Avs in the first and second rounds while Wedgewood made stops on Jason Robertson and Matt Duchene.
Leading the Way
Nate the Great
MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (42), is second in points (103) and third in assists (61).
All Hail Cale
Among NHL defensemen, Makar is second in points (66) while ranking fourth in assists (47) and goals (19).
Marty Party
Necas is seventh in the NHL in points (76).
Series History
In 132 previous regular-season games against the Wild, the Avalanche has a record of 66-49-3-14. The teams have met three times in the playoffs, including the 2008 Western Conference Quarterfinals that saw the Avs defeat the Wild in six games.
Victorious Against Vegas
The Wild defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena on Friday. Minnesota took a 3-0 lead after second-period goals from Mats Zuccarello at 5:18, Zach Bogosian at 8:07 and Michael McCarron at 8:25. In the third period, Pavel Dorofeyev put Vegas on the board with a power-play goal at 2:17, Vladimir Tarasenko gave Minnesota a 4-1 lead at 15:42 and Mitch Marner scored for the Golden Knights at 16:55 to make it a 4-2 game.
Making Plays Against Minnesota
MacKinnon has posted 69 points (26g/43a) in 54 regular-season games against the Wild, in addition to 10 points (2g/8a) in seven playoff contests.
In 28 contests against Minnesota, Makar has recorded 26 points (6g/20a).
Landeskog has registered 46 points (21g/25a) in 52 regular-season games against the Wild, along with four points (3g/1a) in seven playoff contests.
Scoring in the State of Hockey
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild in points (75), is tied for the team lead in goals (35) and is second in assists (40).
Quinn Hughes leads Wild players in assists (56) and is third among Minnesota players in points (62).
Matt Boldy is tied for first on the Wild in goals (35), second in points (72) and third in assists (37).
A Numbers Game
25
Landeskog is the 25th Swedish to record 600 NHL points (257g/343a) and the seventh active such skater to reach that mark.
14
Necas’ 14 points (6g/8a) since February 25th are the most in the NHL in that time span.
331
Among players from Minnesota, Brock Nelson’s 331-career goals are the fourth most in NHL history.
Quote That Left a Mark
“Special teams, that’s important, especially this time of year, and it’s gonna be more important as we go down into the playoffs. It’s hard to create scoring chances [at] five-on-five, so when you get [a power play], you gotta take advantage of it.”
-- Gabriel Landeskog on the importance of the power play
