Bednar Sets Avalanche-Wild Test as Series Opens in Denver — Wild Vs Avalanche
The wild vs avalanche second-round series opened Sunday night in Denver, with Colorado and Minnesota meeting again after a regular-season split that left little between them. The Avalanche had a week off after sweeping the Los Angeles Kings, while the Wild arrived after a six-game fight with Dallas.
Bednar and Marcus Foligno
Jared Bednar said his players needed to understand the pace before they could control it. “As the coach, I can steer them which way I think... how hard it’s going to go,” he said. “But they’ve got to go and feel it. They have to go and engage in it.”
Marcus Foligno gave the same series a simple label. “It’s going to be another big battle,” he said. “We’re mentally ready for it.”
Colorado’s rest, Minnesota’s grind
Colorado entered the series rested after its first-round sweep, a sharp contrast to Minnesota, which had just survived six games against the Stars. The teams split their regular-season meetings 2-1-1, with each side winning once in regulation and once in a shootout, and two of the last three playoff meetings between them stretched to seven games.
That balance is why the opening game carried so much weight. The Avalanche came in as Presidents’ Trophy winners and Cup favorites, while the Wild carried the strain of a bruising series and the memory of a 5-14 playoff series record over their 25-year history. Minnesota has advanced past the second round only once, in 2003, and it had not gotten out of the first round since 2015 until this spring.
Makar, Hughes and the injuries
The matchup also came down to star power and health. Cale Makar finished the regular season with 20 goals and 59 assists and scored in each of Colorado’s last two playoff games, while Quinn Hughes ended the regular season with five goals and 48 assists and logged nearly 28 minutes a night. He played 31:40 in the postseason and finished the clincher with two goals and an assist.
Colorado listed Josh Manson with an upper-body injury. Minnesota had Joel Eriksson Ek questionable because of a lower-body injury, and Jonas Brodin did not make the trip because of one. The series also put Scott Wedgewood and Jesper Wallstedt in the spotlight in goal, with Brent Burns and Nick Foligno still chasing the first Stanley Cup of their careers.
Brock Faber summed up Hughes’ impact after the last round: “Big-time players step up in big-time games, and that is what he did.” Minnesota’s route to Denver still had that same theme running through it, with Nathan MacKinnon and Kirill Kaprizov headlining a series that already looked tight before the puck dropped.
For Colorado, the edge was supposed to come from rest and depth. For Minnesota, it was survival and timing. The first period in Denver was always going to tell which side carried its form from the first round and which side had to adjust first.
