vs. Colorado Avalanche at Xcel Energy Center: 7:30 p.m. Friday
TV; radio: TNT; 100.3 FM
Stats and analytics: Tap here.
Pregame reading: lf you missed Sunday’s story on Swedish hockey’s development system, here it is.
For the fans: There is a winter coat drive for the American Indian Family Center. New or gently used winter coats will be collected at Gates 1-5. Every fan who donates a coat will receive $50 off of select ORORO apparel.
Opening bell: Colorado (12-6) is near the top of the division and has won four of its last five. The Avalanche are 10 points ahead of the Wild, who have dropped a season-high five straight. During this rut, the Wild (5-8-4) have played better defensively, but their offensive leaders have been quiet: forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy have combined for only one goal during the skid.
Watch him: Avalanche D Cale Makar is on a tear, picking up a whopping 18 points during an eight-game point streak. His 18 assists in a single month are a franchise record for a defenseman and after tallying a goal and assist on Wednesday, Makar became just the seventh defender in the past 30 years to record five consecutive multi-point games.
Avalance injuries: Pavel Francouz (groin), LW Gabriel Landeskog (knee), LW Artturi Lehkonen (neck) and RW Logan O’Connor (lower body). D Samuel Girard (personal reasons) did not play the last two games.
Wild moves: F Vinni Lettieri and D Dakota Mermis were assigned to Iowa on Friday as D Alex Goligoski (broken leg) was activated from LTIR.
Forecast: The Avalanche have remained contenders since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, so this would always be a challenging matchup for the Wild. But coming off a trip to Sweden and considering their losing streak, the Wild are facing a tough test. Key to a competitive battle is maintaining the improved defensive posture they’ve had of late — especially on the penalty kill. Also, a lead would probably do wonders for the Wild right now; they’re undefeated when they’re ahead after one period and 2-0-1 when they’re up going into the third.
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Sarah McLellan covers the Wild and NHL. Before joining the Star Tribune in November 2017, she spent five years covering the Coyotes for The Arizona Republic.
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