It’s time for the Colorado Avalanche to look ahead and set their sights on their second-round opponent: the Minnesota Wild. This will be the fourth time these two have played each other in the postseason, with the three previous series occurring in the first round.

Colorado and Minnesota were even keel all season long, with their respective 2-1-1 records against each other. They each won one and lost one on home ice and will be even closer and more competitive than in the regular season.

Colorado Avalanche

Colorado’s historic season with 121 points was reflected in their first-round matchup against the Los Angeles Kings. In the end, they handled LA with a four-game sweep.

However, the four games were not as easy as they might’ve seemed. The first two games in Denver were decided in 2-1 finals, with the latter of the two games requiring overtime.

It was also the only 3:21 of the series in which Colorado trailed in the entire series. Gabriel Landeskog tied it late, and Nicolas Roy won it beyond regulation.


Scoring increased in Games Three and Four, but LA’s defense still stymied the Avs. At the same time, the Avalanche’s defense stymied the Kings’ offense, albeit a lackluster one.

Colorado will need to step up their offensive game while still holding strong at the back. Scott Wedgewood will still likely be the goaltender of choice after his performance in the first round. He finished with a 1.21 goals-against average and a save percentage of .950.

The offense needs to step up, as Minnesota will have more firepower than LA had. While Colorado did enough and scored at 5-on-5 and shorthanded, the struggles showed once again on the power play.

The Avs only scored one goal on the man advantage in Game Four. It was also the first of two goals for Nathan MacKinnon in the entire series, with his other goal being an empty-netter.

MacKinnon and Landeskog each have two goals and assists to lead all scorers, along with Artturi Lehkonen. Roy has stepped up, as did Devon Toews and Cale Makar later on in the series.


However, some guys have to find their footing. Brock Nelson’s lone point of the series was a goal, while Martin Necas has only two assists. Surprisingly, Valeri Nichushkin has no points.

More needs to be done from Colorado’s perspective to make it to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2022. Ahead of them, there’s an even hungrier team looking to take down another goliath in the league.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild, despite not having home ice, won two games on the road to take down the Dallas Stars in six games. While Avs fans won’t have to deal with Dallas, they will instead deal with one of the hottest teams in the league.

Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy have been on fire with nine points apiece. Boldy has scored six goals with three assists, while Kaprizov has dished out seven assists of his own.

Up the lineup aside from Kaprizov and Boldy, Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman have scored in bunches. In just three games, Zuccarello scored five points while Hartman had four points. Finally, Joel Eriksson Ek has five points in six games.


Their depth has some familiar names. Former Avs Nico Sturm and Yakov Trenin have each recorded points in three and four games played, respectively. Vladimir Tarasenko has gotten two points in six games, while Michael McCarron has scored two big goals.

However, health is a question mark for the Wild. Eriksson Ek was battling through injury in Game Six, and Zuccarello has been out. The same can be said about Avs defender Josh Manson, who has been out with an upper-body injury.

Speaking of defense, the debate will rage on between Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes. Hughes had two goals and six assists in six games, and will be eying an advantage in this first postseason matchup between the league’s two best defenders.

Behind Hughes, Brock Faber has also been brilliant with three goals and assists. While the rest of the defense doesn’t score in bunches, they can play an excellent shutdown game.


They are led by AHL-affiliate Colorado Eagles defender Keaton Middleton’s brother, Jacob Middleton. Jonas Brodin and Minnesota’s captain, Jared Spurgeon, can also hold the line.

In the crease, the Wild have also had their own breakout star. In six games, Jesper Wallstedt has a 2.05 goals-against average and a save percentage of .924. During the regular season against Colorado, there were times when he’d be the difference-maker.

He stopped what was a 10-game winning streak for the Avs back in November in the shootout. He’s been critical for Minnesota to keep up in the race during the regular season. He will be tough to beat, and the Avs offense has to be aware and step up its game, as previously mentioned.

The schedule and what to expect

For Colorado, they will be looking to get some payback 12 years later. Back in 2014, the Avs lost in Game Seven on home ice to the Wild.

They will also be looking to continue their historic season and the run they’ve been on. They’ve matched or passed several records the previous cup teams had, making it seem as though it’s their destiny to keep on going.

Plenty of time has passed since then, but the now much-older core of Landeskog and MacKinnon will be leading the way. At the same time, Minnesota will be looking to get past the second round for only the second time in franchise history.

They will also be looking to continue their own run after knocking out a powerhouse competitor in the first round. For the Wild, they’re hoping history can prevail for a second time.

Game One will be on Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. MT at Ball Arena in Denver and on TV on TNT, truTV, and HBO Max. A full series schedule will be released soon.