SAINT PAUL, Minn. — The Colorado Avalanche have won their last six games all at home. The Minnesota Wild are 5–5–0 in their last 10 games. They fell to the spiraling Pittsburgh Penguins two days ago and had trouble in their power play. Tonight, the Wild wanted to play the attrition game, knowing Colorado was tired. As the Avalanche fall to the Wild, they lose important points in the standings for the playoff race.

First Period

The Avalanche came out like they had the rest and not the Wild. Colorado was playing with sustained zone pressure on Minnesota and keeping the puck moving. The Avalanche were wearing them out from the start and showed with three straight icings by the Wild. As usual, Colorado hit a couple posts and only racked up five shots on net. With six and a half minutes left in the period, Devon Toews barreled Ryan Hartman, resulting in an interference call against Toews. The Avalanche successfully killed off the penalty and ended the period with no score.

Second Period

Colorado kept the pressure up to start the second period. At just under three minutes into the period, Colorado pressure forced Marcus Foligno to toss the puck over the glass. The power play unit for the Avalanche moved the puck well, with Brock Nelson even hitting the crossbar from five feet away. With nine minutes left in the second, Martin Necas tried to take the puck out of his own zone. Matt Boldy stole the puck and then sent it to the slot for Marco Rossi. The centerman  handed it off to Mats Zuccarello for the easy wrist shot past Mackenzie Blackwood. Colorado hit another post and the period ended with a Wild 1–0 lead.

Third Period/Overtime/Shootout

Throughout the third period, it was a battle of attrition. Minnesota was trying to see if they could drag the game out long enough to win. Colorado was not giving up that easily, though. With five minutes and 40 seconds left in the period, Samuel Girard spun to make room. Girard threw the puck down the middle of the slot and Joel Kiviranta got a piece before heading into the net.

During the overtime period, Minnesota dominated the puck possession. They were determined to get to the shootout. Valeri Nichushkin provided the best chance from either team, but had no luck. Zuccarello and Boldy would score for the Wild in the shootout while MacKinnon and Necas would miss for a Wild win of 2–1.

Observations from the Mountaintop

The Avalanche started out fine. They had a lot of energy considering they played last night and traveled. Once Minnesota got the lead, they saw Colorado lose energy and wanted to drag things out. The Avalanche had difficulty piercing the perimeter and tried to make up for it by over passing. The key thing for the Avalanche over the next few days will be rest. And lots of it.

Next Game

The Avalanche will head north of the border to take on the Calgary Flames. The game will start at 7 p.m. MT for all to watch on Altitude 2 Sports and KTVD (My20).