DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche will be hoping history doesn’t repeat itself, and the Minnesota Wild will surely be hoping it does.
For the ninth time in franchise history, the Wild are facing an uphill climb from 2-0 down to attempt to win a series.
They’ve rallied to win only one of those series, and that was in 2014, when the Avs won the first two home games and the Wild returned to St. Paul and won all three of their home games before winning Game 7 in Denver.
This is a very different Avs team, though, so this 2-0 series lead after Tuesday night’s 5-2 Colorado victory at Ball Arena has a different feel.
For one, the Wild have three injured players, including their two best defensive players. For two, the Avs were the best offensive and defensive team in the NHL this season, won the Presidents’ Trophy, and have a superstar defenseman in Cale Makar and a Nathan MacKinnon who’s no longer a rookie and is 12 years older.
“Obviously, a different team going through it, but they took care of what they did at home in their home building,” said Wild captain Jared Spurgeon, the only player from that 2014 series who’s still with the team. “Now, we’ve got to take care of ours.”
After giving up nine goals in Game 1, the Wild made the bold decision to dust off Filip Gustavsson, who had not played since April 13, and bench Jesper Wallstedt, who went 4-2 with a 2.05 GAA and .924 save percentage in the first round against the Dallas Stars but gave up a career-high eight goals in Game 1.
It didn’t bode well when Gustavsson gave up goals on the first two shots he faced and another on a harmless-looking shot to open the second period.
“I thought Gus gave us a chance to win,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “The difference in the game was the special teams. That’s basically what it comes down to.”
The Avs scored two power-play goals on five chances and killed both of Minnesota’s power plays.
Martin Nečas and Kirill Kaprizov scored six seconds apart in the first period, but the Avs soon took the lead and didn’t relinquish it.
Gabriel Landeskog extended his point streak to five games with a power-play goal, and MacKinnon scored a power-play goal and had two assists for his 21st career multipoint playoff game, passing Hall of Famer and Avs president Joe Sakic for the most in franchise history.
Valeri Nichushkin capped the win with an empty-netter, his first goal of the playoffs, and Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood rebounded after allowing six goals in Game 1, making 29 saves.
The Wild and Avs have three days off before the series heads to Minnesota for Game 3 on Saturday and Game 4 on Monday. Minnesota is hoping the off days allow injured Joel Eriksson Ek to return to their lineup at home.
Gustavsson’s tough return
Hynes talked about how “hungry” Gustavsson was to return to the net and make his playoff debut Tuesday, saying the goaltender didn’t “cede” the net to Wallstedt, who started the first seven playoff games, and that Gustavsson was ready for this moment.
But Gustavsson looked like a goalie who hadn’t played a game in three weeks, at least at the start. He gave up a goal on each of the first two shots in a shaky first period, and the third goal by the Avalanche is one he probably wants back.
The first goal was off the rush by Nečas, who backhanded a shot from the slot through traffic. Gustavsson didn’t have much of a chance on the second one, as MacKinnon put it on a tee in front for a wide-open Landeskog on the power play.
Gustavsson settled in a little after that, but the third goal was an unscreened shot from the slot by Nicolas Roy, giving Colorado a 3-1 lead one minute into the second period.
“Thought he was just going to cut in more, and he quickly released it,” Gustavsson said. “I was just a little slow.”
Brodin injury is a killer
The best ability is availability, and Jonas Brodin’s unavailability this series is hampering the Wild’s ability to have any shot.
The Brodin-Spurgeon pair was good during the regular season and was on the ice for only two five-on-five goals against Dallas. Jake Middleton’s start to this series has been a severe downgrade.
He was on for both first-period goals Tuesday and committed the turnover on a breakout that led to Roy’s early second-period goal. Middleton has been on the ice for nine of the Avs’ 14 goals in the series; Spurgeon has been on for eight of them.
“Gotta be better,” Spurgeon said. “Obviously, it’s not ideal. You’re not happy about it. But we’ve got three days here to go over things and make some adjustments and then be back at home.”
The Landeskog power-play goal 15 seconds into a careless Yakov Trenin offensive-zone penalty came because of Middleton’s sloppy dive to try to intercept MacKinnon’s pass.
As one former Wild penalty killer said via text, “Lead with stick. Don’t slide, especially the way he slid … too many holes.”
Interestingly, Daemon Hunt took Middleton’s spot with Brock Faber on penalty kills the rest of the night.
“We may look at some different combinations,” Hynes said when asked about the Middleton-Spurgeon pair. “We have a little bit of time here to look at that. … They’re two excellent players for us. But I think they can be better.
“I think we ought to use this time a little bit wisely. … I would say the five-on-five game from Game 1 to Game 2 was significantly better. Special teams were the difference in the game tonight, and I think when it comes down to individual players, you have a little bit of time now to go through some things and see if we can help those guys get to the level where they can be and where we need them to be.”
With Zach Bogosian injured and Jeff Petry put on a third pair with Hunt, it was obvious assistant coach Jack Capuano was concerned about his second pair when he began giving Quinn Hughes and Faber defensive-zone starts early in the game.
There’s no doubt the penalty kill, which gave up 10 goals against Dallas, is a major issue.
“Make our reads,” Wild forward Michael McCarron said. “They move the puck quick. I think Dallas might have moved it a little quicker, but I mean, you can see these plays developing. Even when I’m on the bench, you can see them developing, and we’ve just got to be more aware of where guys are on the ice on the PK.
“We’re doing a lot better with our clears. We’re up and out. They’re getting some Grade A looks, though. We have to clean it up.”
Avalanche can check, too
The nine goals Colorado racked up in Game 1 showed just how explosive it can be.
But the Avalanche were also the league’s best team during the regular season because of how stingy they can be defensively, allowing the fewest goals per game (2.40) in the league. And they put on a checking clinic for good chunks of Game 2 against the Wild. They didn’t give Minnesota a ton, especially off the rush (except for Kaprizov’s first-period goal), keeping the Wild to the outside and limiting second chances and rebounds.
“It didn’t surprise me that the game kind of settled down after a hectic start,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.
And once again, the Avalanche kept Matt Boldy in check. Boldy, the Wild’s biggest gamebreaker in the first round, with six goals, was shut out for the second straight game. Boldy, who had an assist and three shots in Game 1, had 0 points in Game 2.
“I want to create. I want to score goals, be part of the offense and play well all over the ice,” Boldy said. “It’s hard to do this time of year, and you’ve gotta create space for yourself, so I hold myself to a pretty high standard, and I think I can be better.”
Eriksson Ek’s being out is an issue, although Danila Yurov set up Marcus Johansson’s goal on Boldy’s line.
“Danila’s done a great job,” Boldy said. “He’s growing into a great two-way player, I think. The more he looks up to Ekky and tries to play his game like that, the better off he’ll be. We’ve just got to keep going and find ways to put the puck in the net.”
The Wild’s power play looked better than it has in a while, tallying six shots on goal in its first-period opportunity.
Avalanche showing elite skill
MacKinnon noted that, last round, “the Kings didn’t activate their D once in that series. Obviously, that was their game plan, just to kind of check us to death.” Minnesota is a different team — one with offensive firepower of its own — and that has led to a more open, fast-paced style of play.
It has also given Colorado’s most-skilled players the chance to shine.
Less than three minutes into the game, MacKinnon burst into the offensive zone and dropped a pass to Nečas. The Czech forward split a pair of defenders, then backhanded a puck past Gustavsson for a goal on Colorado’s first shot of the game. Later in the period, he started a tic-tac-toe goal assisted by MacKinnon and finished by Landeskog.
After scoring only 2 points in four games against the Los Angeles Kings, Nečas is up to 5 this series. MacKinnon has 6. Both played a part in getting Colorado’s power play going.
“He was unbelievable tonight on both sides of the puck,” Bednar said of MacKinnon. “The speed and pace he played with early in the game, it was like he was shot out of a cannon. … That game was off the charts, in my opinion.”
Added Landeskog: “He’s our driving force offensively.”
Avalanche power play improving
Colorado’s power play was a source of consternation throughout the regular season, finishing 27th in the league with a 17.1 percent success rate — almost unbelievable considering the unit’s star power. It improved slightly after the Olympic break but wasn’t able to generate much against Los Angeles, going 1-for-11 and not scoring until Game 4.
The Wild’s struggling penalty kill has proved to be an antidote. Artturi Lehkonen scored in Game 1, and Devon Toews added another goal that wasn’t technically on the power play but happened moments after the kill expired. (Colorado’s power play had a big blunder in Game 1, allowing a short-handed goal to Marcus Foligno shortly before Toews’ goal).
Game 2 brought Colorado more success, as it went 2-for-5 and was a difference-maker.
“It’s much improved from the Olympic break on,” said Bednar, who liked some of the looks his power play got against Los Angeles. “It’s been dangerous more than not in this series as well. It just shows those top guys are really dialed in.”
The top unit had its beautiful tic-tac-toe goal in the first, then had another strong power play in the second that didn’t result in a goal. MacKinnon got a solid look on that power play, ringing a shot off Gustavsson, and Colorado kept the offensive zone for more than a minute.
Colorado’s third power play was similar: a few good looks but no results. But the process was solid, and the Avalanche were rewarded on their fourth when MacKinnon blasted a one-timer past Gustavsson to all but put the game out of reach.
Colorado got one final power play after a Kaprizov cross-check on Makar. The Avalanche got one dangerous look early but were mostly cautious as it went, knowing the game was in its final minutes and the team was up 2.
“It’s been a long year on the power play, but I feel like what we’re doing (now) is sustainable,” MacKinnon said. “I feel like we’re generating a lot of chances and they’re not just some lucky goals.”
