wild gameday
8 p.m. at Colorado • Pepsi Center • FSN, 100.3-FM
Preview: The Avalanche is third in the Central Division and has a seven-point lead on the Wild in the Central, although Minnesota is in wild-card playoff position. Colorado has a 3-1 edge against the Wild this season.
Players to watch: The balanced Avalanche scoring attack is led by C Matt Duchene (17 goals-27 assists—44 points), LW Gabriel Landeskog (14-26—4) and C Paul Stastny (15-23—38). LW Ryan O'Reilly and rookie RW Nathan MacKinnon are the goal-scoring leaders with 18. G Semyon Varlamov is 26-9-5 with a 2.43 goals-against average. … Wild G Darcy Kuemper (2.26) has started eight games in a row. RW Jason Pominville scored his team-high 21st goal in Tuesday's 4-2 victory at San Jose. LW Zach Parise had a three-point night.
Numbers: The Wild is 9-3-1 in 2014. … C Mikael Granlund's power-play goal Tuesday broke an eight-game streak by the Wild where it did not score with a man advantage. Still, it was 1-for-5 on power plays, and that nine-game stat now reads 1-for-26.
Injuries: Wild G Josh Harding (illness), D Jared Spurgeon (foot) and C Mikko Koivu (ankle) are out. Avalanche D Cory Sarich (back) and LW David Van der Gulik (concussion) are out. LW Alex Tanguay (knee) and G Jean-Sebastien Giguere (back) are probable.
CHRIS MILLER
