Colorado Avalanche vs. Minnesota Wild Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/29/2022

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Venue: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN

Where to watch: Bally Sports Wisconsin, Bally Sports North, ALT

DraftKings: Avalanche -135, Wild +110

BetMGM: Avalanche -135, Wild +110

Caesars: Avalanche -130, Wild +110

Avalanche: 56-18-7

Wild: 52-22-7

The stage is set for the Minnesota Wild. Win, or get a point, and they’ll have home-ice advantage against the St. Louis Blues in the first round. We’re more than likely accepting the fact that St. Louis is going to steamroll the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, so it has to be a win for Minnesota.

The Wild will be taking on the Colorado Avalanche to close the regular season, and all signs point to Colorado taking the day off considering the Avalanche have nothing left to play for when the puck drops in St. Paul on Friday.

The Avalanche lost out on the Presidents Trophy after losing 5-4 in a shootout to the Nashville Predators, who did all they had to do in order to avoid playing Colorado in the first round. That distinction will go t the Dallas Stars if Nashville gets one more point in their Friday matchup against the Arizona Coyotes.

So the Avalanche really have nothing left to play for in that regard, but perhaps momentum and spoiling the fun for Minnesota is one way to do it. Colorado led by two at two different points in the game, but allowed the tying goal four minutes into the third. Four different Avs scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 33 saves before turning into a pumpkin at an inopportune time.

"I had no problems with our game through two periods. None. Zero. I thought we played well, especially through two periods," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "We didn't give up hardly any scoring chances. I would say the difference in the hockey game, to be fair, was 'Kuemps' had an off night."

So all of that we know now is that the Avalanche, should they get to the Stanley Cup Final, will have home-ice advantage unless they play the Panthers. It wouldn’t be a shocking outcome to me if the Avs decided to either rest guys, or take their foot off the gas and try to escape Minnesota without getting injured.

As for the Wild, they have life and can host a playoff series over St. Louis, which would do a lot for this group that is having one of its best seasons in a very long time. Minnesota is at 111 points and with 52 wins, need just a point to clinch the No. 2 seed.

If Minnesota were to lose, St. Louis would need a win against the Golden Knights in any fashion to leapfrog the Wild and ensure Game 1 is at Enterprise Center. The Blues hold the tiebreaker over the Wild via regulation wins.

Minnesota is coming off a 3-2 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames when Kirill Kaprizov scored the game-winning goal 44 seconds into the extra frame. Cam Talbot got the start and made 31 saves, ensuring that Marc-Andre Fleury will get the call against Colorado … and possibly in Game 1 against the Blues. Chicago fans rejoice knowing the quest to hopefully get a first-round pick out of the Fleury trade will actually come to pass.

"These points were big for us tonight," Talbot said. "It was a playoff-type atmosphere, and that's kind of what we needed after the last game (5-3 loss to Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday). Just a kick in the pants last game, and to have a playoff-like atmosphere tonight against one of the best teams in the West and a team we're going to have to go through in the playoffs, that's a confidence builder moving forward for sure."

The Wild have the complete combination of offensive firepower (which is still weird to say in Minnesota), a strong blue line, and reliable goaltending. We might not be talking about the Wild enough as it pertains to Cup contention, but they are right there. The winner of the Minnesota-St. Louis series is going to be in for a fight against Colorado, but no one can tell me they won’t make it rough on the Avs.

Again, I firmly believe the Avs will ease off the gas and let the Wild cruise here. Playoff hockey back in Minnesota, this time in a much more full building compared to last year, and everything is going to be awesome. Wild win 4-2

Avalanche are 75-44 the past three seasons against division opponents.

Wild are 12-13 this season against division opponents.

Avalanche:

Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Valeri Nichushkin

Andre Burakovsky -- Nazem Kadri -- Mikko Rantanen

Logan O'Connor -- J.T. Compher -- Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Andrew Cogliano -- Nico Sturm -- Darren Helm

Cale Makar -- Devon Toews

Samuel Girard -- Josh Manson

Erik Johnson -- Bowen Byram

Pavel Francouz

Wild:

Kirill Kaprizov -- Ryan Hartman -- Nick Bjugstad

Kevin Fiala -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Matt Boldy

Jordan Greenway -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Marcus Foligno

Nicolas Deslauriers -- Tyson Jost -- Brandon Duhaime

Jacob Middleton -- Jon Merrill

Jonas Brodin -- Dmitry Kulikov

Jordie Benn -- Alex Goligoski

Marc-Andre Fleury

Points: Mikko Rantanen -- 91

Goals: Mikko Rantanen -- 36

Assists: Nazem Kadri -- 59

Goalie: Darcy Kuemper -- 37-12-4, 2.54 GAA, .921 SV%

Points: Kirill Kaprizov -- 106

Goals: Kirill Kaprizov -- 46

Assists: Kirill Kaprizov -- 60

Goalie: Cam Talbot -- 32-12-4, 2.77 GAA, .911 SV%