Preview: Wild vs. Avalanche

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Minnesota hits home ice again today, hoping to recover from Sunday's tough 3-1 loss to the Penguins. Tonight, the Wild welcomes the Colorado Avalanche into Xcel Energy Center, hoping to take advantage of a weary Avalanche team on the second half of a back-to-back. Colorado shut the Blackhawks out last night at home in Denver.

Info for Tonight's Game:

• When: Tuesday, March 11th at 7:00 p.m. CT
• Where: Xcel Energy Center (Saint Paul, Minnesota)
• Tickets: Buy Now
• Additional Ticket Offers:
  • Healthcare Appreciation Ticket Pack featuring custom Wild socks
  • Special Olympics Ticket Pack including a post game group photo with Brock Faber
• Watch: FanDuel Sports North
• Listen: KFAN 100.3 FM
• Gamecenter: Wild vs. Avalanche

Wild Record: 36-24-4, 76 points, 4th in Central Division

Avalanche Record: 39-24-2, 80 points, 3rd in Central Division

2024-25 Series Record: 1-2-0

All-Time Wild Record: 16-16-2 (7-7-2 at Xcel Energy Center)

This Season on Wild vs. Avs

Colorado won the series-opening game, 6-1, at Xcel Energy Center (1/9), and the third game, 5-2, in Denver (2/28). Minnesota won the second game, 3-1, at Ball Arena (1/20).

C Freddy Gaudreau (0-2=2), D Brock Faber (1-1=2), D Jake Middleton (1-1=2), LW Liam Öhgren (0-2=2) and C Yakov Trenin (1-1=2) each lead the Wild with two points against the Avalanche this season. G Filip Gustavsson is 0-2-0 with a 5.04 GAA and a .821 SV% in starting the first and third games. G Marc-André Fleury saved 21-of-22 shots faced to earn the win in the second game.

C Nathan MacKinnon (2-2=4) and C Ross Colton (3-1=4) lead Colorado with four points each against Minnesota this season. LW Jonathan Drouin owns three points (1-2=3). G Mackenzie Blackwood is 2-1-0 with a 2.04 GAA and a .915 SV% in starting all three games for Colorado.

Last Time Out

Minnesota was defeated 3-1 by the Penguins on Sunday. RW Ryan Hartman scored the lone goal for the Wild, assisted by D Jared Spurgeon and LW Marcus Johansson.

Wild Leaders Against Avs

• RW Mats Zuccarello leads Minnesota with 31 points (6- 25=31) in 33 career matches against Colorado
• LW Kirill Kaprizov (12- 8=20, in 18 games) and Spurgeon (5-15=20, in 60 games) each have 20 points
• Hartman owns 18 points (9-9=18) in 37 contests

Avalanche Leaders Against Wild

• MacKinnon leads the Avalanche with 63 points (23- 40=63) in 50 career games against Minnesota
• D Cale Makar has 22 points (5-17=22) in 24 games
• D Samuel Girard owns 18 points (1-17=18) in 31 contests
• D Devin Toews has 14 points (2-12=14) in 20 games

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On the Mend

Jonas Brodin: lower-body injury (four game missed)

Joel Eriksson Ek: lower-body injury (seven games missed)

Kirill Kaprizov: lower-body injury (15 games missed)

Connections

• Trenin recorded three points (2-1=3) in 16 games with the Avalanche last season
• C Charlie Coyle recorded 242 points (91-151=242) in 479 games across seven seasons (2012-19) with the Wild
• C Brock Nelson is from Warroad
• D Ryan Lindgren hails from Burnsville and skated in two seasons at the University of Minnesota (2016-18
• D Sam Malinski is from Lakeville
• D Erik Johnson is from Bloomington and played one season at the University of Minnesota (2006-07)
• Colorado D Keaton Middleton is the younger brother of Wild D Jake Middleton

Fast Facts

• Minnesota has 60 wins and 133 points against Colorado all-time, second-most against any franchise
• Minnesota defeated Colorado in seven games in the 2003 First Round and the 2014 First Round
• The Avalanche won the 2008 First Round series in six games

For more information on today's matchup, check out the game notes below.