After a whirlwind start to the playoffs, the Minnesota Wild finally had a chance to take a breath.
Now they will find out whether fresh legs and a fresh mindset can prompt a fresh start.
Minnesota will try to claw back in its series against the Colorado Avalanche when the teams face off Saturday night in Saint Paul, Minn. Colorado holds a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals.
The Wild dropped each of their first two games in Denver after rallying to beat the Dallas Stars in the conference quarterfinals. The Wild and Avalanche enjoyed three days off before the series shifted to Minnesota for Game 3.
“It’s huge, the rest is huge,” Wild forward Matthew Boldy said. “Sometimes it’s tough when you’ve got to jump right back into it (after winning a series). I think these days have been great for us to reel it back in, know what we need to do and reset a little bit.”
Meanwhile, Colorado hopes to pick up right where it left off.
The Avalanche are 6-0 in the postseason after sweeping the Los Angeles Kings in the first round and outscoring the Wild 14-8 in the first two games of the semifinals.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar senses similarities between Game 3 of this round and Game 3 of the previous round against the Kings. In that series, the Avalanche battled for a 4-2 win over the Kings to take a 3-0 series lead and open the door for a clean sweep.
Bednar expects the Wild to play with desperation.
“It doesn’t matter where you are, which building you’re playing in, if you have a 2-0 series lead, Game 3 is a critical game,” Bednar said. “We know we’ll see their best just like we did with L.A., and we have to be ready to play our best game of the series.”
Nathan MacKinnon leads Colorado with four goals and six assists through six playoff games. Gabriel Landeskog, Devon Toews and Martin Necas share second with seven points apiece.
Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood will look to continue his perfect start to the playoffs. He is 6-0 with a 2.12 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.
Wild coach John Hynes did not reveal his starting goaltender after Friday’s practice. He will choose between Jesper Wallstedt, who is 4-3 with a 2.81 GAA and a .903 save percentage in seven playoff games, or Filip Gustavsson, who is 0-1 with four goals allowed and an .818 save percentage to show for his lone appearance in Tuesday’s Game 2.
“I’ll let you know later,” Hynes said with a smile.
Kirill Kaprizov and Quinn Hughes lead the Wild in the playoffs with 11 points apiece. Boldy is next with 10 points, including a team-high six goals.
Joel Eriksson Ek could make his series debut after sitting out the first two games for Minnesota because of a lower-body injury. Hynes said there is a chance Eriksson Ek will play despite getting only one practice under his belt.
“I thought he looked good out there, so that was certainly encouraging,” Hynes said.
The Avalanche were outshot 31-23 in Game 2 but won 5-2 anyway.
Bednar said he liked the quality of his team’s shots, even if the quantity lagged.
“It gets harder to create chances this time of year,” Bednar said. “But, ultimately, you’ve got to find a way to win.”
