Wild at Avalanche
Bruce Boudreau is 10 games into his tenure as Minnesota Wild coach and is far from satisfied with the 13 points they've earned as they begin a four-game road trip against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday afternoon. Minnesota had a three-game winning streak snapped - all shutouts by Devan Dubnyk - with a 2-1 loss to Buffalo on Tuesday, prompting Boudreau to tell reporters: “Sometimes it’s a frustrating team. It can play so good one period and not show up for the (next) period.”
There is a lot to like, though, as goaltender Devan Dubnyk (5-2-1, 1.51 goals-against average, .948 save percentage) and the NHL's top penalty killing unit (26-for-27) are big reasons why the Wild are near the top of the competitive Central Division. Colorado lost 4-0 in Chicago on Thursday for its fourth setback in five games - a stretch in which it scored six goals. "We got a lot of guys that are playing really good hockey that are just snake bit right now, and hopefully they break out of it soon,'' Avalanche forward Matt Duchene told reporters. "I know they will. We're doing a lot of good things. It's just sticking with it." Minnesota owns Colorado of late, winning four of five meetings in each of the last two seasons after defeating the Avalanche in seven games in a first-round Stanley Cup playoff series in 2014.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, FSN North (Minnesota), Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE WILD (6-3-1): Boudreau is hard to satisfy as Minnesota was also fifth in scoring through Thursday's games (3.3 goals) despite Zach Parise (two goals, team-high 28 shots) missing the last two contests with a foot injury that has him listed as week-to-week. Defenseman Ryan Suter boasts club bests of seven assists, 10 points and average ice time of 27:01 while Eric Staal has a team-most four goals in his first season with the Wild. Forward Jason Zucker (two goals) is one of 11 Minnesota players with two or more goals and is a club-best plus-9.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (4-5-0): Duchene (team highs of five goals and eight points) is off to a fast start but fellow alternate captain Nathan MacKinnon (one goal, minus-3 rating) is not. Top defensemen Erik Johnson (four assists, minus-4) and Tyson Barrie (team-worst minus-6), and No. 1 goaltender Semyon Varlamov (2-5-0, 3.30, .891) are also struggling. Colorado defenseman Fedor Tyutin returned to lineup Thursday after missing four games with a groin injury.
OVERTIME
1. The Avalanche are 2-for-22 on the power play over their last seven games after converting 4-of-9 chances in their first two contests.
2. The Wild are last in the NHL at 26.1 shots per game.
3. Colorado has lost eight straight games when its opponent scored two or fewer goals in the previous contest.