Avalanche Faces Rival Wild in Round Two Heavyweight Fight

The Avalanche will face its Central Division rival, the Minnesota Wild, in Round Two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a trip to the Western Conference Final on the line. This is the fourth time the two franchises have met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Minnesota winning two of the previous three series against Colorado.

How We Arrived Here

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche was able to sweep the Los Angeles Kings which included an overtime victory in Game Two. Colorado’s defensive play in the series was stout, as it allowed five goals in the series, with two coming at five-on-five, while posting an 81.3% mark on the penalty kill. Offensively, Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Artturi Lehkonen each posted two goals and two assists for Colorado, which averaged 2.25 five-on-five goals per game in Round One. In net, Scott Wedgewood picked up the first four playoff starts and wins of his NHL career, recording a .950 save percentage and a 1.21 goals-against average.  

Game One: LAK 1, COL 2 

Game Two: LAK 1, COL 2 (OT) 

Game Three: COL 4, LAK 2 

Game Four: COL 5, LAK 1 

Minnesota Wild

The Wild defeated the Dallas Stars in six games, winning three-consecutive contests after trailing 2-1 in the series which included an overtime victory in Game Four. At five-on-five, Minnesota outscored Dallas 14-4, holding the Stars without a five-on-five tally in Games One, Four and Five. Leading the Wild in points with nine were Game Four hero Matt Boldy (6g/3a) and Kirill Kaprizov (2/g7a). Additionally, Quinn Hughes posted eight points (2g/6a), with both goals coming in Game Six, while Brock Faber and Joel Eriksson Ek both scored three tallies. Making the first playoff appearance of his NHL career, Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt posted a .924 save percentage along with a 2.05 goals-against average in Round One. 

Game One: MIN 6, DAL 1 

Game Two: MIN 2, DAL 4 

Game Three: DAL 4, MIN 3 (2OT) 

Game Four: DAL 2, MIN 3 (OT) 

Game Five: MIN 4, DAL 2 

Game Six: DAL 2, MIN 5 

Regular Season Series

The Avalanche and Wild met four times during the regular season, with each team picking up one win in regulation on the road and one victory in a shootout at home. 

November 28th: COL 2, MIN 3 (SO) 

December 21st: COL 5, MIN 1 

February 26th: MIN 5, COL 2 

March 8th: MIN 2, COL 3 (SO)

Next Up

The Avalanche will host the Wild for Game One of Round Two on a date that is to be determined. All Avalanche games will be broadcast live on Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM and streaming on the Altitude Sports Radio App. Additionally, Altitude+ will be hosting a pregame and postgame show for each game. To stay up to date with the schedule and all things playoffs, visit our Playoff Central.