Colorado Avalanche vs Minnesota Wild Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/09/2026

Game Time: 9:00 pm ET, Saturday, May 9, 2026

Venue:  Grand Casino Arena, St Paul, MN 

Where to Watch:  TNT, HBO Max, truTV

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Avalanche -130, Wild +110; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Avalanche -130, Wild +110; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Avalanche -130, Wild +105; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Colorado Avalanche:  55-16-11 (1st place, Central Division)

Minnesota Wild:  46-24-12 (3rd place, Central Division)

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Colorado Avalanche:  9-0-1 last 10

Minnesota Wild:  5-4-1 last 10

The Avalanche are entering the playoffs with 121 points, a 55-16-11 record overall, and they were 29-7-5 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Minnesota Wild in their last game, winning that one at home 5-2. Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Martin Nečas, Nicolas Roy, and Valeri Nichushkin each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Nathan MacKinnon and Brett Kulak each led the team in assists with 2 while Nathan MacKinnon led the team in shots on net in that game with 5. Scott Wedgewood was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 31 shots with 29 saves and a .935 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 302 goals this season averaging 3.7 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 203 goals against them allowing 2.5 goals per game.

The Wild are entering the playoffs with 104 points, a 46-24-12 record overall, and they were 23-10-8 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Colorado Avalanche in their last game, losing that one on the road 5-2. Kirill Kaprizov and Marcus Johansson each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Daemon Hunt, Danila Yurov, Mats Zuccarello, and Ryan Hartman each led the team in assists with 1 while Ryan Hartman led the team in shots on net in that game with 5. Filip Gustavsson was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 4 goals on 22 shots with 18 saves and a .818 save percentage. Their offense has scored 272 goals this season averaging 3.3 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 240 goals against them allowing 2.9 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Avalanche listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Avalanche have looked great in their games this season with their 55-16-11 record overall which had them right at the top of their division in the West with the best record in the entire NHL. They have been a great road team too with their 29-7-5 road record this year. Meanwhile, the Wild have looked really good in their games this season with their 46-24-12 record overall which had them right in the top half of their division in the West. They have looked good on home ice too with their 23-10-8 home record this season. This is game 3 of a 7-game series between the 1st seeded Avalanche and the 3rd seeded Wild from the Central Division for the 2nd round of the NHL playoffs. The Avalanche are entering this game with a 2-0 series lead after winning game 2 by a score of 5-2. The Wild have been one of the best teams in the NHL all season and they kicked the Stars out in the last round with a 4-2 series win, but the Avalanche have completely shut them down in the first 2 games of this series. They did it with offense in game 1, winning 9-6, and they did it with defense in game 2. The Avalanche swept the Kings in the 1st round and they have been rolling lately as they are 9-0-1 in their last 10 games and have a ton of momentum on their side with 9 wins in a row now. The Wild may have been one of the best teams in the NHL this season, but the Avalanche were the team that actually had the best record and they weren't even close to the 2nd place team for most of the year. The Avalanche have been on a tear all year and they have only gotten better as the playoffs have gone on. This is great value for the best team in the NHL too, so look for the Avalanche to continue rolling in this one. The best way to place a bet here is on the Avalanche to win this game. 

Avalanche Wild Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Saturday, May 9, 2026 (9:00 pm ET start time) is Avalanche 4 Wild 2.

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Colorado Avalanche: 103-65 (-7.9 units) on the moneyline off a win in their previous game. 70-59 (-8.1 units) on the moneyline when playing against a team with a winning record. 112-75 (-6.4 units) on the moneyline against excellent power play teams- scoring on over 17.5% of their chances. 6-2 OVER when leading in a playoff series.

Minnesota Wild: 75-74 (+6.9 units) on the moneyline against explosive offensive teams - scoring 3+ goals/game. 26-23 (+5.4 units) on the moneyline against good starting goalies - saving 91.5% of shots against or more. 26-22 (+7.7 units) on the moneyline against good defensive teams - opponents average 26.5 shots on goal or less. 28-20 OVER against good possession teams-averaging 3+ more shots on goal than opp.

Colorado Avalanche:  J. Kiviranta (LW) Out - Undisclosed. J. Manson (D) Day To Day - Upper-body.

Minnesota Wild:  Z. Bogosian (D) Day To Day - Lower Body. J. Eriksson Ek (C) Out - Lower Body. J. Brodin (D) Out - Lower Body.

“Much better tonight. Still made a couple mistakes, for sure. Things we can continue to clean up to tighten things up, but I thought the commitment was there, the details were much better in all situations. It’s a hard-fought game. The difference for me is special teams. We did a nice job 5-on-5, they did a better job 5-on-5. It’s much harder to create dangerous scoring chances and looks. We gave them a couple and found a way to get a little bit better even than we were tonight. But overall, I thought it was a really good game." - Jared Bednar after his team’s win against the Wild in the 2nd game of this series on Tuesday. 

“I thought 'Gus' gave us a chance to win. The difference in the game was the special teams. That’s basically what it comes down to. At 5-on-5 we did a lot of good things tonight. Special teams need to be better.” - John Hynes after his team’s loss against the Avalanche in game 2 of this series on Tuesday. 

LW Artturi Lehkonen

C Nathan MacKinnon

RW Martin Necas

LD Devon Toews

RD Cale Makar

G Scott Wedgewood

LW Kirill Kaprizov

C Ryan Hartman

RW Mats Zuccarello

LD Quinn Hughes

RD Brock Faber

G Filip Gustavsson

Points: Nathan MacKinnon (127)

Goals: Nathan MacKinnon (53)

Assists: Nathan MacKinnon (74)

GAA: Scott Wedgewood (2.02)

Points: Kirill Kaprizov (89)

Goals: Kirill Kaprizov (45)

Assists: Quinn Hughes (48)

GAA: Jesper Wallstedt (2.61)

Coaches:

Colorado Avalanche: Jared Bednar (10th season)

Minnesota Wild: John Hynes (3rd season)