Today marks the fourth and final matchup between the Wild and Avalanche, a series Minnesota leads two games to one. The Wild earned a 3-2 shootout win in the first meeting on November 28 and a convincing 5-2 win in the first game back from the Olympic break on February 25. The Avalanche claimed a 5-1 win at Grand Casino Arena on December 21.
Colorado comes into today’s game with a league-leading 42 wins and 93 points, while Minnesota ranks fourth in the NHL with 84 points. Both teams are expected to have a new face inserted into the lineup as Nick Foligno will debut for Minnesota, while Nazem Kadri will debut for Colorado.
Jesper Wallstedt is the expected starter for Minnesota today. This marks his second start against the Avalanche this season, as he earned a win in the aforementioned 3-2 shootout win, stopping 39-of-41 shots faced in regulation and overtime and two-of-three shootout attempts. For the season, Wallstedt owns a 14-6-4 record with a 2.85 GAA, a .910 SV% and four shutouts.
The Last Five:
For Minnesota, it comes into today’s game with a 3-2-0 record, outscoring its opponents 17-13. Prior to going to 0-1 on the power-play against Vegas on Friday night, the Wild had scored a power-play in its previous four games. After dropping two in a row to Utah and St. Louis, the Wild bounced back with consecutive wins over Tampa Bay and Vegas.
For Colorado, in its last five games, the Avalanche owns a 4-1-0 record with its lone loss coming against Minnesota. It comes into tonight’s contest winners of four in a row, including a 5-4 shootout win over the Dallas stars on Friday night. Furthermore, Colorado is averaging 35.2 shots per game over its last five, including a 47-shot outing against the Wild on February 26.
Players to Watch:
Matt Boldy: After seeing his 10-game point-streak (8-13=21) come to an end on Friday night in Vegas, Boldy will look to get back into the scoring column tonight. Over his last 17 games, Boldy owns 25 points (10-15=25), including a four-point (2-2=4) outing against the Avalanche on February 26.
Mats Zuccarello: He comes into today’s contest with eight points (4-4=8) in his last eight games, including three points (1-2=3) in his last two games. He has also collected a point (5-7=12) in nine consecutive road games, the fourth-longest run in franchise history.
