Minnesota Wild-Colorado Avalanche: By-the-Numbers Series Preview

The Wild and Avalanche meet tonight in the first round of the NHL playoffs.  However, there is no clear advantage here like Montreal and Boston. Here are some by-the-numbers notes on the match-up.

• The Wild and Avalanche have met once before in the playoffs in 2003. Despite being outscored 17-16 by Colorado, the Wild took the series in seven.

• Of the eight meetings this season, the Wild are 5-3-1.  They also have more goals for at 22. The Avalanche weren’t far behind, however, with 19.

• The Wild’s top scorer is Marian Gaborik, who is having his best season with 44 goals.  Brian Rolston and Gabby are the top clutch players, each scoring eight game-winning goals.  Pierre-Marc Bouchard is dangerous on the wing, as he’s got 50 assists on the season.

• Colorado’s top scorer is Milan Hejduk, with 29 goals on the season.  Equally dangerous on the wing is Paul Stastny, who has 47 assists this season.  Marek Svatos and Wojtek Wolski are the Avs’ clutch players, with six game-winning goals apiece.

• In terms of the power play, the Avalanche need to focus on shutting down Rolston and Gaborik, who have eleven power play goals each.  The Wild need to focus most on shutting down Hejduk, who has eight.

• The Wild are depending on a fairly inexperienced goalie.  Backstrom has had a fairly solid season, posting a .920 save percentage and 2.31 GAA. However, on occasion he has fallen apart against the Avs. Can Harding step up as well?

• Jose Theodore has regained his form this season, though he’s still fairly inconsistent.  That makes him an X-factor in this series. As a result of the inconsistent, sometimes stellar play his numbers aren't necessarily an actual indicator of ability. His GAA is 2.44 and save percentage stands at .910.

• Colorado will have to ramp up its power play, as it is a cellar-scraping 14.6 percent.

• One of the reasons Minnesota has been so hard to score against is its stellar penalty kill.  At 85.2 percent, it’s the second-best in the league.

• Defense is the biggest feature of Lemaire’s system, and this season has been no different. In the five games the Wild won against the Avs, the disciplined Wild defense have held them to two goals or less a game.

• The Wild have a 3-7 playoff record when playing at home, but have a 6-7 road playoff record.

The Wild will win if...

they can get ahead.  They are not built to come from behind. If they can keep the lead after 2 periods, they are nearly impossible to beat.

The Avalanche will win if...

they can get the power play going and Theodore doesn’t lose his confidence.