Avalanche Open Second Round Tonight on Hockey Games Tonight

The Colorado Avalanche open their second-round series against the Minnesota Wild tonight on hockey games tonight. It is their first Stanley Cup playoff meeting, and the winner starts the round with a fresh lead in a bracket that already saw Carolina move ahead.

Avalanche Meet Wild in Game 1

Colorado and Minnesota go at 7 pm MT on TNT. Jared Bednar’s team is entering a series that has not happened before in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the matchup comes after the Avalanche and Wild were described as boasting arguably the two best defensemen in the game.

The schedule puts this game alongside Montreal against Tampa Bay in Game 7 at 4 pm MT on TNT. That makes tonight a split-screen playoff night, with one series ending and another beginning.

Carolina Sets the Early Pace

The Hurricanes already started their second-round series yesterday and did not trail in any of their first five postseason games. Frederik Andersen backed that run with 19 saves in Saturday’s 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1.

That result left Carolina up 1-0 in its series. It also gave the round an early benchmark: one team has already taken control, and another pair now steps into the same pressure at the start of a new series.

Tonight’s Playoff Split

For readers tracking the bracket, the key change is simple. The postseason night begins with a Game 7 at 4 pm MT, then shifts to Colorado and Minnesota at 7 pm MT, where the Avalanche and Wild start from zero with the series tied at 0-0.

Colorado’s job is immediate. Win Game 1, and the Avalanche leave their own building with the same edge Carolina has already claimed; lose it, and the first-round break after Game 2 in Denver becomes part of a tougher follow-up chase.