The Colorado Avalanche played a well-structured game to defeat the Minnesota Wild in Game Two on Tuesday night in a 5-2 final. When looking at this game after Game One, it looked much more tame – but still with the same result in favor of the home team.

With the series shifting to the Twin Cities, the Avalanche will look to keep up the good work. All around, this might have been the best game of the playoffs for Colorado.

View From the Mountaintop

Compared to the chaotic first game of this series, Game Two was the opposite. It sure seemed like it was following the script from Game One when Martin Necas scored his first goal of the playoffs. That was followed up by Kirill Kaprizov scoring just six seconds later to tie it up. At the time, there were only three shots combined between the two teams. However, things slowed down and were much more structured on the defensive side for the Avalanche. After the Kaprizov goal, the Avs kept the second period quiet and held off Minnesota in the third period. Overall, they did an excellent job.


Their best defender of the evening was Scott Wedgewood. He arguably stole the game, as the Wild peppered him with more shots than Colorado did to new goaltender Filip Gustavsson. Wedgewood finished with 29ย saves, particularly with some big ones in the third period. He would rob Vladimir Tarasenko in front with a point-blank chance, along with another big one on Kaprizov. Wedgewood has continued to show that he’s the guy, with perhaps his best game yet at the most important moment.


In front of him, Colorado’s offense was still structured and kept up its high energy from Game One. Necas finally getting his first goal of the playoffs was big, as was Nicolas Roy’s tally in the second. But where the Avalanche came up big was on the power play. Nathan MacKinnon played the conductor all night long, as he set up the first goal on the man advantage for Gabriel Landeskog. In addition, he smoked a one-timer past Gustavsson in the third period. What has been a struggle all season long and in the postseason turned out to be the difference between a tied series and a 2-0 lead.

Up Next

This series hits the road, but not before a long break. Game Three in the Twin Cities will take place on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. MT.