DENVER - Make the next save.
Give us a chance to find our legs and get back into it.
That's what was going through Wild goaltender Cam Talbot's mind as the Avalanche peppered him with pucks in the first period Thursday at Ball Arena.
But the Wild didn't catch up and Colorado's blitz never stopped, with the Avalanche flattening the Wild 5-1 after unleashing a 55-shot barrage on Talbot — including a jaw-dropping 25 in the first.
Colorado's domination not only stopped the Wild's five-game winning streak but also plucked second place in the West Division from the team, as the Avalanche moved one point ahead in the standings.
"That's not our hockey club," coach Dean Evason said. "We play with more energy. We play with more bite, and we just didn't have any part of our game from start to finish."
The Avalanche's No.1 line was a juggernaut: Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog combined for four goals and 10 points. That was more than enough offense for goalie Philipp Grubauer, who blocked the 19 shots sent his way — a far cry from the career-high 50 saves Talbot made, which are the most saves and shots faced by a goalie in the NHL this season.
"He made his saves," defenseman Ian Cole said. "He did his part, and we as a team did not do our part. He deserves better from us."
This was the seventh time the Wild has surrendered 50-plus shots in a game. The 55 Colorado shots were just shy of the record 57 the Wild gave up to Carolina on Oct.13, 2018, and the record for a road game is 56 (Nov.8, 2001, at Boston).
An offensive clinic in the first put the Avalanche on track to come close to that territory, as the team kept testing Talbot him from different angles and ranges. But the Wild netminder held his ground — rattling off 19 straight saves to open the game.
"Anytime you're stuck in your zone for that long, the lungs start to burn a little more," Talbot said. "The legs start to burn. Mistakes start to happen."
On Shot No.20, Colorado finally pushed a puck past him, and it was off a fortuitous bounce.
After MacKinnon got loose inside, his shot caromed off Matt Dumba's stick and floated by Talbot at 11 minutes, 10 seconds.
On its 25th shot of the first, the Avalanche doubled its lead at 19:02 — a redirect by Rantanen.
Those 25 shots tied the franchise record for most given up by the Wild in a period; the last time the team allowed that many was in 2011.
The Wild was in a worse position after two periods since Dumba left the game. He lost an edge and slid feet first into the boards. He had to be helped off the ice and wasn't putting weight on his right leg.
"Doesn't look good," said Evason, who didn't have an update on Dumba's status.
By then, the Wild had moved within a goal of the Avalanche and it was the team's much-maligned power play that provided the lift.
On a terrific solo effort, Victor Rask skated the puck up ice and threw a shot by Grubauer's glove at 8:41. The goal was Rask's second over the past three games and first power-play goal since March 12, 2018, when he was with Carolina.
But Colorado answered with its own power play goal during its second try when Landeskog buried his own rebound at 15:07.
In the third, Joonas Donskoi scored on a breakaway at 1:57 and then Rantanen tallied his second of the night on a rising backhander at 6:30.
The Wild's 20 shots tied for the fewest this season.
"I don't know if we thought it was going to be easy," Cole said. "But top to bottom none of us were ready for it, and we need to be better."
Former Twins outfielder Hunter, now working with Angels, open to managing
