The Avalanche opened their second-round series Sunday night by dragging the Wild into the kind of game Colorado loves most: fast, loose, and loaded with goals. They finished the job with a third-period burst in a 9-6 win at Ball Arena in Denver. The result gave Colorado a 1-0 series lead in the Western Conference semifinal and immediately turned this matchup into the most chaotic show on the playoff board.
It did not start like an Avalanche cruise. Colorado jumped in front 3-0, only to watch Minnesota storm back and briefly take a 5-4 lead in the second period. That swing alone would have been enough to make Game 1 memorable, but this one kept moving.
By the end of the night, the teams had combined for 15 goals, with Colorado reclaiming control in the third behind its stars and leaving the Wild with a scoreboard that looked more like a January circus than a second-round playoff opener.
The biggest driver of the Avalanche finish was Cale Makar, who scored two third-period goals and added an assist. Colorado also got a huge all-around game from Devon Toews, who finished with a goal and three assists, while Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists. Nazem Kadri, Artturi Lehkonen, Sam Malinski, Nick Blankenburg, and Jack Drury also scored for Colorado, which got offense from just about every corner of the lineup once the game fully broke open.
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Minnesota did not exactly roll over. Quinn Hughes had a goal and two assists, and the Wild also got goals from Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Johansson, Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan Hartman, and Marcus Foligno. For a stretch, it looked like the Wild had done the hard part, surviving Colorado’s early rush and finding a way to push ahead in one of the toughest buildings in the West. The problem was that Colorado still had another gear, and once the Avalanche found it again, Minnesota had no answer.
That is really what separates the story. Minnesota proved it could score in this series. That part is no longer in doubt. Six goals on the road in a playoff opener should usually be enough to make a team feel pretty good about itself. But giving up nine is a completely different problem, especially when the other side can create offense in waves and does not seem especially bothered by a game turning into total chaos. Colorado got 30 saves from Scott Wedgewood, while Minnesota’s Jesper Wallstedt stopped 34 of 42 shots and still wound up on the wrong end of the avalanche anyway.
There is also the bigger warning sign for Minnesota. The Wild entered the series already dealing with lineup issues, including Jonas Brodin being unavailable for Game 1 and Joel Eriksson Ek also dealing with physical trouble. Against a Colorado team that already thrives on speed and puck movement, any defensive instability is dangerous. Sunday showed exactly how dangerous. Once the game got wide open, Colorado’s skill looked overwhelming.
For the Avalanche, the opener also reinforced why they entered this round as one of the more dangerous teams left in the field. This was not a tidy, buttoned-up playoff win. It was a reminder that if Colorado gets space and rhythm, it can bury teams before they figure out how to slow the whole thing down. Even after coughing up a lead and letting Minnesota back into the game, the Avalanche still had enough offense to simply run away from the mess.
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Now the series moves to Game 2 on Tuesday night in Denver, and the Wild already know what the first priority has to be. They cannot let this turn into a repeat. If the Wild cannot slow this series down, they are going to spend the rest of it skating uphill against one of the most explosive teams in hockey.
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