Wild gameday
8 p.m. at Colorado
NBCSN, 100.3-FM
Preview: Something has got to give. The Wild, which shut out Colorado in consecutive home and away games to open last season, and Avalanche have the two highest season-opener point percentages in NHL history (.643). The Wild is 8-4-2, the Avs are 19-9-7. The Avs are 11-4-3 when opening a season at home, the Wild 0-3-1 when opening a season on the road.
Players to watch: G Devan Dubnyk, the Wild's second-half savior of 2014-15, gets the start after facing little volume during the preseason. He went 3-0, facing only 54 shots in 180 minutes. He is 10-6-1 with a 2.09 goals-against average and .935 save percentage all-time vs. the Avs. LW Chris Porter is the only player who will make his Wild debut. Avs RW Jarome Iginla is the all-time leading scorer vs. the Wild with 37 goals, 69 points and 10-game winners. G Semyon Varlamov is 8-8-1 against the Wild with a 2.29 GAA and struggled against Minnesota to start last season. C Nathan McKinnon, the 2014 Rookie of the Year who had 10 points against the Wild in those playoffs, is set to center Gabriel Landeskog and Alex Tanguay, the fifth-highest scorer all-time vs. the Wild (64 points).
Numbers: Wild coach Mike Yeo is 3-0-1 in season openers. … The Wild has outscored opponents 39-26 in season openers; the Avs have outscored opponents 131-100. … The Wild is 41-33-10 all-time vs. the Avs.
Injuries: Wild RW Justin Fontaine (oblique) is out. Avalanche C Jesse Winchester (concussion) is out.
Michael Russo
