Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche Pick & Prediction JANUARY 20th 2025

Stadium: Pepsi Center Denver
Logo Minnesota Wild
VS
Logo Colorado Avalanche
6
OPENER
-1.5
6o -104
CURRENT
-1.5 +107
+205
MONEYLINE
-245
3
SCORE
1

Preview and Prediction

The Minnesota Wild are feeling a sense of urgency, despite having almost half of the season still ahead of them.

After dropping three consecutive games and four of their last five, the Wild are determined to turn things around in their upcoming matchup against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday afternoon in Denver.

The team has been on a bit of a roller coaster since late November, experiencing winning streaks of five and four games, as well as a stretch where they lost four straight in regulation.

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Their current losing streak has been compounded by the absence of key players. Star player Kirill Kaprizov is currently on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury, while defensemen Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon are both out with lower-body injuries. However, there is some hope for the team as Spurgeon may potentially return for Monday's game.

Despite the injuries, the Wild are disappointed with their recent losses, particularly their 6-2 defeat against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

"That's why you have to be able to perform in the games you're in," said coach John Hynes after the loss. "We weren't at our best, and that's something we need to get back to on Monday. It's all about the next target, and our next target is Colorado."

Although he hasn't played in nearly a month, Kaprizov still leads the team in goals (23), assists (27), and points (50). Matt Boldy (18 goals, 23 assists) and Marco Rossi (17 goals, 23 assists) rank second and third on the team, respectively.

On the other side, the Colorado Avalanche are also dealing with some injuries, but their star players are healthy and performing at their best.

Nathan MacKinnon currently leads the NHL in scoring with 73 points (17 goals, 56 assists) as of Sunday. Mikko Rantanen is not far behind, ranking sixth in the league with 63 points (25 goals, 38 assists), while Cale Makar leads all defensemen with 52 points (15 goals, 37 assists).

Makar even scored two goals in Saturday's 6-3 victory over the Dallas Stars, reaching 100 career goals. He also returned to the game after taking a shot off his left skate in the second period.

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"I may be a little biased, but I think we're watching one of the best defensemen in the history of the game," said coach Jared Bednar of Makar.

In addition to Makar's milestone, Jonathan Drouin also scored his 100th career goal in the same game. He has been finding his rhythm after missing 32 of the first 38 games due to an upper-body injury, and has been thriving on a line with MacKinnon.

"We're just on the same page. We're in the right spots at the right time, making it easy for the guy with the puck to find us or make a play," Drouin said of his line.

The Avalanche are still hoping to get back to full health, as Valeri Nichushkin has missed the last nine games with a lower-body injury and Miles Wood has been out for the last 24 with an upper-body injury. There is currently no timeline for their return to the lineup.

PREDICTION
Minnesota Wild
2
4
Colorado Avalanche

Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche Recap JAN 20TH 2025

Yakov Trenin and Brock Faber scored goals 1:35 apart early in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 in Denver on Monday.

Jake Middleton had a goal and an assist, Liam Ohgren contributed two assists and Marc-Andre Fleury turned away 26 shots for Minnesota. The Wild, who continue to play without leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon, snapped a three-game skid and improved to 17-5-3 on the road. They have the most road wins in the NHL.

Nathan MacKinnon scored the only goal for Colorado, which is 2-2 on its five-game homestand that finishes Wednesday against Winnipeg.

Mackenzie Blackwood had 23 saves, including several big ones through the first two periods that kept the Avalanche in the game.

Play went mostly unimpeded for the first seven-plus minutes until Middleton's shot from the point got by a screened Blackwood to give Minnesota 1-0 lead at 12:18.

The Wild went on the power play twice in the final 4:39 of the first but converted neither time. Their best chance came when David Jiricek got a pass through the slot and had a wide-open net before Blackwood slid over and made a pad save.

Blackwood continued to keep it a one-goal game through the second period, denying Joel Eriksson Ek on a point-blank chance and then made two saves on Minnesota's fourth power play of the afternoon.

MacKinnon capitalized on Blackwood's play late in the second period. He stickhandled in the Wild zone, which sent Middleton to the ice, sent the puck to Samuel Girard, took the return pass down the slot and beat Fleury with a wrister at 18:52.

Minnesota took back the lead early in the third period when Jiricek sent a pass in the slot to Trenin, whose snap shot beat Blackwood at 2:08. The Wild added another goal soon after when Faber got a drop pass from Ryan Hartman, skated in between the circles and sent a shot over Blackwood's left shoulder at 3:43.

Blackwood came off for an extra skater with 3:27 left but Colorado couldn't score.