Morning Skate Wrap Up: Wild vs. Avalanche

It’s Game 3 tonight between the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche at Grand Casino Arena. After dropping the first two games in Colorado, the Wild is looking to get back into the series with a key win in tonight’s contest. The last time Minnesota was down 2-0 against Colorado was in 2014, a series the Wild went on to win in seven games. Another Game 3 note per Stats Perform, Minnesota is 5-4 all-time in Game 3’s when trailing 2-0 in a series.

For Minnesota, special teams continue to be the topic of conversation surrounding the team. It has allowed at least one power play goal in every game this postseason, going 20-for-33 on penalty kill opportunities (60.6 PK%). On the offensive side of special teams, Minnesota has not scored a power play goal in three consecutive games and only has four power play goals across its eight playoff games, two of which came in Game 1 against Dallas in the First Round. When asked what needs to change in order to turn this series around, Wild forward Michael McCarron kept it short and simple “special teams.” Look for that to be a deciding factor in tonight’s contest.

Jesper Wallstedt is back in net tonight for Minnesota. After starting the first seven games of the playoffs, Minnesota turned to Filip Gustavsson in Game 2 in Colorado after Wallstedt allowed eight goals on 42 shots from the Avalanche in Game 1. Through his first seven starts, Wallstedt is 4-3 with a 2.81 GAA and a .903 SV%--he had won three consecutive starts prior to Game 1 in Colorado.

Wild Head Coach John Hynes confirmed this morning that the team will be without Jonas Brodin and Joel Eriksson Ek for a third consecutive game against the Avalanche. Eriksson Ek skated for the first time yesterday and was questionable coming into today, but ultimately will miss at least one more game. Brodin, on the other hand, has yet to return to the ice and his return remains unknown. The final update on the injury front for Minnesota, Zach Bogosian will return to the lineup tonight after missing Game 2 with a lower body injury.

Players to Watch:

Matt Boldy: He has yet to score in this series but look for the forward to make an impact tonight. He has recorded at least one point (3-1=4) in all three playoff games at Grand Casino Arena this postseason.

Kirill Kaprizov: It seems like if Kirill goes, the team goes. He enters tonight’s contest T-2nd among all Stanley Cup Playoff skaters with 11 points (3-8=11). Game 2 in Colorado marked the first time this postseason that Minnesota did not win when Kaprizov scored. In his career against Colorado at home, Kaprizov owns 10 goals and 16 points (10-6=16) in just 12 games.