Avalanche anticipate ‘great challenge’ against Hughes, Wild in Western 2nd Round

CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- The Colorado Avalanche know they’re facing a tough test with the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference Second Round.

The Avalanche went 2-1-1 in the regular season series against the Wild, and they know tight margins are in store when the series opens at Ball Arena on Sunday (9 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN360, SN, TVAS, CBC).

“They're a top-five team in the League, and from the Olympic break on they're a top-five offensive team in the League and top-10 defending team in the League,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said on Saturday. “You watch the Dallas series and they're a good, well-rounded hockey team. They won the 5-on-5 battle when it comes to goals, by a great margin, and they've got two good special teams as well. So it's going to be a challenge.”

One such challenge that Minnesota presents is puck-moving defenseman Quinn Hughes, who is tied for seventh in the NHL and ranked third on the Wild in postseason points (eight). The 26-year-old is also second in assists (six) for Minnesota through six games.

“When he has the puck, it's pretty incredible to watch,” Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar said. “He’s very mobile and finds the right seams, and, obviously, you saw a lot of that in the Dallas series. So he makes it tough on the forwards to keep up with him, and that's what good ‘D’ do nowadays. So offensively, he's incredible.

“Him and (Brock) Faber, in general, have been incredible. Obviously, at the Olympics too, and it's fun watching those guys. They're incredible at breaking out the puck, and obviously they're in every single rush too. So they make forwards' lives challenging, and give them credit because, obviously, they did a great job against Dallas.”

Hughes, a game-breaker acquired by Minnesota via trade on Dec. 12, finished the regular season with 76 points (seven goals, 69 assists) in 74 games, including 53 points (five goals, 48 assists) in 48 games with the Wild. He also had eight points (one goal, seven assists) in six games on his way to winning a gold medal with Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.

A gold-medal winning teammate of Hughes (and Faber and Matt Boldy) in Italy, Colorado forward Brock Nelson has the unique experience of playing both with and against Hughes this season.

“Obviously, adding Quinn on the back end changed the team quite a bit. Dynamic player, controls the game, generates a lot of offense, helps the power play,” Nelson said. “When you play with him, I think you probably have a better appreciation (of him). Playing with him in the Olympics, you see how dynamic he is and how much he controls the play. And now you watch from afar, and what he's done for that team. I think breakouts, transition, like I said, 5-on-5, power play, he impacts a pretty wide area.”

For his part, Hughes knows that beating the No. 1 team in the NHL this season won’t be easy.

“They were the best team in the League. It's going to be a really hard series,” he said following a 5-2 win to eliminate the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round on Thursday. “They’ve got some ultra-competitive guys too. I just think it's a great challenge for us. We're going to be looking forward to it.”

Despite the compliments, the veteran-laden Avalanche squad knows the only thing that matters is winning.

“That doesn't really mean nothing unless you're the last man standing or last team standing,” Colorado forward Nazem Kadri said. “So of course, we appreciate that, but we think they're a pretty good team as well, and we're going to have to be ready for everything they throw at us.”

Said Makar: “Obviously, they're an incredible team. They're a top team in the League, and it's going to be a really tough test. Their top guys were incredible the last series, I thought, and if they continue to do that, it's going to make our lives very challenging.”

As far as a game plan for playing Minnesota, Colorado is keeping that in the room.

“I can't tell you too much. Can’t disclose all our secrets, but I think they're a physical team, a hard-tracking team,” Kadri said. “They do a lot of details very, very well. So we're going to have to match that detail and that focus and that determination. Should be a good series.”