DENVER – The setup is one the Wild practices all the time.
But instead of fanning out to cover the opposing players in the defensive zone like it's supposed to, the Wild tracked the puck — leaving one of the most dangerous players on the ice, the Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen, all alone to set up teammate Gabriel Landeskog for a backdoor tap-in.
"We talked about it, about sorting out and staying on your guy," defenseman Jared Spurgeon said. "I think just had a lapse there."
Not only was the gaffe a costly one, the deciding tally in a 4-2 loss to the Avalanche on Saturday at Pepsi Center that dropped the Wild to 0-2, but it overshadowed what was otherwise a valiant effort that saw the Wild overcome a poor start and two-goal deficit to pull even with one of the most dynamic teams in the NHL.
"It's disappointing to not come out of that with a point," defenseman Ryan Suter said. "We did a lot of good things, and we've got to continue to work at it."
Those positives came after a rough beginning.
Only 23 seconds into its first power play of the game, Colorado converted when Rantanen moved from the wall to the slot untouched and wired a blistering shot through traffic and by goalie Devan Dubnyk at 4:30 of the first period.
By 5:57, it was 2-0.