DENVER – The Wild has just one more game to play before it'll embark on an eight-day break in the schedule, but this final test is significant since it's against a Central Division rival in the Avalanche that's only a point shy of the Wild in the standings.
"I think both teams are going to feel the same way," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "To me it's a playoff game."
This is the Wild's final trip to Colorado during the regular season, but it'll host the Avalanche one more time – a matchup that could help decide seeding for both.
After the Wild fell 4-1 at Pepsi Center in its season-opener, the team held off the Avalanche 3-2 at Xcel Energy Center Oct.27.
Overall, the Wild has lost its last four meetings in Colorado.
"Starts against this team are really important," Boudreau said. "You just look at our record here last year and their starts against us and even after Game 1 here, it was 1-1 after one but they had outshot us 14-5. We gotta be ready. Recently we've been better at it, so hopefully it'll continue tonight."
Defenseman Brad Hunt will make his Wild debut after getting added in a trade Monday. He'll play on the left side, while Jonas Brodin will shift to the right.
The plan is for Brodin to pair with Greg Pateryn on defensive-zone draws, a rotation the Wild used previously when Louie Belpedio was with the team.
