It’s a Central Division matchup in Denver tonight as the Wild takes on the Colorado Avalanche in its first game back from the Olympic break at 8:00 p.m. CT on FanDuel Sports Network and KFAN FM 100.03. Two of the top teams in the division will meet for the third time this season after splitting the first two meetings in St. Paul—with the Wild winning the first game, 3-2, in a shootout on Nov. 28 and Colorado taking the second game, 5-1 on Dec. 21. Colorado comes into tonight’s game off a 4-2 win over Utah last night, moving its record to 38-9-9 and league-leading 85 points, while the Wild owns a 34-14-10 record and 78 points.
Over its last 10 games prior to the Olympic break, the Wild put together a 8-1-1 record, winning five consecutive games to close out the first 58 games of the season. Filip Gustavsson will get the start tonight for Minnesota—he comes into tonight’s game with a 15-2-4 record over his last 21 starts with a 2.45 GAA, a .911 SV% and two shutouts. MacKenzie Blackwood will start for Colorado tonight, owing a 16-5-1 record with a 2.25 GAA, a .916 SV% and three shutouts. Blackwood made 28 saves on 29 shots in Colorado’s 5-1 win over Minnesota in December.
When asked about tonight’s meeting and the series finale against Colorado coming on March 8, Wild Head Coach John Hynes said, “They’re a top team and do a lot of things well. I put stock into all the games, but I think this is an opportunity for us to be able to lay our best game on the ice.” For a game of this magnitude it’s imperative the Wild has all of its keys guys on the ice, and when asked the availability of Matt Boldy, Brock Faber and Quinn Hughes, Hynes noted that all three are good to go after coming off an Olympic Gold Medal on Sunday.
Players to watch for Minnesota:
Kirill Kaprizov: Three goals away from the franchise record, Kaprizov faces a team in the Avalanche that he has had great success against. Kaprizov has recorded at least a point (11-5=16) in 11 consecutive games against Colorado and owns three goals in his last three games.
Quinn Hughes: As mentioned, Hughes comes into tonight’s game after winning a Gold Medal with Team USA at the Olympics. Prior to the Olympic break, Hughes put together a franchise-long 10-game assist streak (2-16=18), and he will look to extend that to 11 in a row tonight.
Joel Eriksson Ek: Fresh off representing Sweden the Winter Olympics, the centerman will look to extend his point-streak (4-4=8) to a season long seven games tonight.
