Wild at Avalanche preview: Broadcast info, injury report and analysis
The Wild will have a tough task against an Avalanche team that is dominant on home ice, led by star Nathan MacKinnon.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 8, 2024 at 5:07AM
at Colorado Avalanche, Ball Arena, 8 p.m. Friday
TV; radio: BSN; 100.3 FM
Stats and analytics: Tap here
Pregame reading: The Wild trade Brandon Duhaime to Colorado.
Sarah McLellan’s preview:
Opening bell: Colorado has been busy bolstering its roster before the trade deadline. Not only did the Avalanche add LW Brandon Duhaime from the Wild, but they’ve also recently picked up forwards Casey Mittelstadt and Yakov Trenin and D Sean Walker. Currently third in the Central Division, Colorado (39-20-5) could still catch Dallas for first place. The Avalanche were idle Thursday night while the Wild played at Arizona.
Watch him: Avalanche C Nathan MacKinnon is the NHL’s leading scorer after back-to-back four-point performances lifted him past Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. MacKinnon is up to 109 points and has at least a point in 11 straight games. The Colorado superstar is on a mind-boggling 31-game point streak at home, a run in which he’s tallied 69 points. This tear is tied with Bryan Trottier (1981-82) and Mario Lemieux (1995-96) for the fourth-longest home point streak in NHL history. Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL record at 40 games, a feat he accomplished in 1988-89 with Los Angeles.
Injuries: Wild LW Marcus Johansson (lower body), RW Pat Maroon (back), D Jake Middleton (upper body) and D Jared Spurgeon (hip/back). Avalanche G Pavel Francouz (groin) and LW Gabriel Landeskog (knee).
Forecast: This could be a difficult day, let alone matchup, for the Wild. The trade deadline is at 2 p.m. Friday, and already the Wild have subtracted a popular teammate in Duhaime. Regardless of if the team makes any more deals, the Wild could tweak their lineup against the Avalanche if LW Marcus Foligno is ready to return from a groin injury. Foligno is on the road trip and skated Thursday morning in Arizona. Whatever version of the Wild squares off vs. Colorado, the team will be facing a tough task. The Avalanche have won four of their last five games, and they’re dominant on home ice, where they’re an impeccable 25-6.
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Alex Ovechkin has a broken left fibula and is expected to be out four to six weeks, an injury that pauses the Washington Capitals superstar captain’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career goals record.
