Series Preview
by Kevin Greenstein

Wild Outlook: Dynamic winger Marian Gaborik, one of the NHL’s most explosive players, paces the Wild offense. He led the team with 42 goals and 83 points, and most importantly, appears to have put the injury bug behind him. Gaborik suited up for 77 of the Wild’s 82 games, and should be quite a challenge for the Avalanche defense to neutralize. On the Wild blue line, young Brent Burns took another huge step forward with his game, posting franchise records (for defensemen) in goals (15), assists (28), and points (43). And in goal, Niklas Backstrom enjoyed another fine season (33-13-8, 2.31 GAA, .920 SV%), proving that his stellar rookie campaign (as a 29-year-old) was no fluke.

Avalanche Outlook: Just as Joe Sakic supplanted Peter Stastny as the franchise’s go-to offensive force 20 years ago, this year Peter’s son took the mantle from Sakic. Stastny led the Avs with 71 points in 66 games, while posting a team-best plus-22 rating. Meanwhile, though Sakic battled through injuries, he still managed to score 40 points in 44 games, and will no doubt be a factor in the playoffs. The Avs’ defense got a little meaner with the offseason signing of Scott Hannan, who will do his best to rough up Gaborik whenever he approaches the crease. And in goal, one of the NHL’s biggest surprise stories has been the re-emergence of former Hart Trophy winner Jose Theodore. Theodore reclaimed the starting job with a strong bounce-back performance (.910 SV%, 2.44 GAA). And if he can continue to reclaim the form he displayed in the early part of this decade, the Avs will be a dangerous threat to capture the Cup.

Prediction: Avs in Six

Game One
Avalanche 3, Wild 2
by Kevin Greenstein

Why the Avalanche won: With Joe Sakic, Paul Stastny, and Peter Forsberg leading the way, the Avs are by far the more talented team in this series. And if their top-tier players perform at a high level, it will be extremely difficult for Minnesota to match up. In addition, though the Avs are known primarily for their high-powered offense, it’s worth pointing out that they’ve quietly assembled a rock-solid defense corps, with talented puck-mover John-Michael Liles nicely complemented by veteran bruisers Scott Hannan and Adam Foote.

Why the Wild lost: The Avs got a high-quality performance out of Sakic, but top Wild forward Marian Gaborik was effectively invisible, registering only one measly shot on goal in nearly 24 minutes of ice time. And because the Wild lack the scoring depth that the Avs boast, it should be fairly easy for Colorado to focus their checking efforts on Gaborik and continue to effectively neutralize him.

Key play of the game: In an overtime game, it’s hard to argue against the winning goal being the most important play. But given the sudden-death situation, even more critical was Jose Theodore’s stellar stop on the Wild’s Brent Burns about five minutes before Joe Sakic iced the game for the Avalanche. Theodore’s re-emergence as a top-tier netminder has been nothing short of shocking, for the former Hart Trophy winner appeared completely washed up as recently as last season. But this year, he’s rediscovered his form, combining lightning-fast reflexes with dramatically improved positioning to give the Avs what could well be Cup-caliber goaltending.

What’s next: For the Avs, simply more of the same. That Colorado came away with an overtime victory despite the fact that both Peter Forsberg and Paul Stastny were held off the scoresheet is unquestionably a bad sign for Minnesota. After coming from two goals down to tie the game in the third period, the Wild really needed to finish the job and pull off an important victory. And if Gaborik doesn’t get going in Game Two, this series probably won’t need to return to St. Paul for Game Five.

Game Two
Wild 3, Avalanche 2 (OT)
by Tom Peets

Why the Wild won: Minnesota evened the series at a game each because they were able to answer the Avalanche's physical play. The Wild capitalized on the opportunities given to them in the third period and finally put two goals past Jose Theodore with what looked like the game winner from Mikko Koivu with less then two minutes left in the game.

Why the Avalanche Lost: Colorado lost this game not because of the effort of goaltender Jose Theodore who had 28 saves, but because of the untimely turnovers that allow the Wild to get back into the game. In game 1 the Avalanche boasted scoring depth that did not show up in game 2. The Wild neutralized Joe Sakic and held him to only 2 shots on goal for a -1 on the game.

Key play of the game: Kim Johnsson was called for a hooking penalty with 1:09 to go, and Milan Hejduk tied it with 43.8 seconds to play and with the goalie pulled gave Colorado a two-man advantage. Again, it is hard to argue against the winning goal being the most important play and this time I will have to say that Keith Carney's overtime slapshot to tie the series 1-1 for the Wild is the key play of the game.

What's next: The Avalanche need to keep shutting down Gaborik and make the Wild defenseman work hard since there is a lack of depth in that area for the Wild due to key injuries from Nick Schultz and Kurtis Foster. The Wild also need to improve on their power play if they expect to win a game in Colorado and turn this series in their favor.

Game Three
Wild 3, Avalanche 2 (OT)
by Tom Peets

Why the Wild Won: In a word, pressure. The Wild never slowed down putting shots on the net, firing 46 shots at Jose Theodore. Brent Burns played a great game, jumping on loose pucks in the defensive zone and keeping the Avalanche players away from Niklas Backstrom. The Wild also got very strong play from Kim Johnsson and Martin Skoula, who are playing lots of minutes in all three games of this series. If they can hold up and not tire out, the Wild might just win this series.

Why the Avalanche lost: A collapse in the third period is the key to this loss. After leading for two periods, Colorado had a power play at the beginning of the third period but could not capitalize on it and put the game away. Minnesota out-shot them and finally got some goals past Jose Theodore to tie the game and send it into OT.

Key play of the game: This is going to sound like a broken record, but a game winning goal in overtime is the key play of yet another game. Deep into overtime, Brian Rolston hits a slashing Pierre-Marc Bouchard who gets the puck past Jose Theodore for the win.

What's next: More of the same thing from both teams. This series is turning in to one of the best series to watch so far with all three games going into OT. With stellar goaltending and hard hits and keeping each other best goal scorers in check. This is a very close and intense series between these two teams. The Wild need to wear out Colorado's forwards and the Avalanche need to wear out the D-men of Minnesota; whoever can do this the best should win this series.

Game Four
Avalanche 5, Wild 1
by Kevin Greenstein

Why the Avs won: On paper, there is no question as to which is the better team in this series. But for the first three games, the teams played virtually dead-even hockey, largely because the Avs failed to capitalize on the few opportunities the disciplined Wild offered them. But in Game Four, the floodgates opened, with numerous Wild defensemen turning the puck over in the first period in a display of uncharacteristic sloppiness. And the Avs took full advantage, jumping out to a 3-0 first period lead en route to a decisive and demoralizing 5-1 victory.

Why the Wild lost: From the launch of the franchise back in the fall of 2000, the Wild have been known to be one of the stingiest defensive teams in the entire NHL, largely due to the tutelage of Jacques Lemaire. But in Game Four, the Wild literally fell apart, turning the puck over at the neutral zone multiple times to give the Avs a litany of odd-man-rush opportunities. And with the Avs’ talented lineup, that is a recipe for disaster. Making matters even worse, while Jose Theodore provided a stabilizing safety net for the Avs, Wild netminder Niclas Backstrom looked shaky at best. And while this loss was hardly his fault, his inability to effectively track shots from the point is without question a cause for concern in St. Paul.

Key Moment: Just over one minute into the game, Wild defenseman Petteri Nummelin turned the puck over at the blue line, allowing Cody McLeod to skate in alone on Backstrom. And while McLeod didn’t score, the sloppy play set the stage for what would become perhaps the most one-sided game to be played thus far in these playoffs.

Looking Ahead: Without question, the Wild need to get back to what works, disciplined defensive play and smart decision-making with the puck. And netminder Backstrom needs to make some big saves early in Game 5 to regain his teammates’ confidence. For the Avs, it’s simply a matter of sticking to their game plan, capitalizing on the opportunities provided them—particularly on the power play—and staying out of the penalty box.

Game Five
Avalanche 3, Wild 2
by Kevin Greenstein

Why the Avalanche Won: Avs netminder Jose Theodore was truly brilliant, stopping 38 of the 40 shots he faced, holding off the Wild through the first two periods when they outshot the Avs 32-14. The former Hart Trophy winner re-emerged as a top-tier goaltender this season, taking the starting role away from Peter Budaj halfway through the 2007-08 campaign. And with his performance on Thursday night, he gave the Avs a 3-2 series lead and a glorious opportunity to close things out in Denver on Saturday night.

Why the Wild Lost: Despite a tremendous effort, Minnesota was unable to crack Theodore. Of their first 39 shots, only one cracked the twine, and a too-late Brian Rolston goal with three seconds left made the final score look misleadingly close. Indeed, Theodore was both the reason the Avs won and the reason the Wild lost. And if he continues to play at this high level, the star-studded Avs may well emerge as the team to beat in the Western Conference.

Key Moment: Whether tracking deflections or moving from post to post, Theodore was truly magnificent. But while his stellar netminding was the story of the game, it would be impossible to choose one of his 38 saves as a defining moment in this contest. Instead, the game’s key moment came early in the third period, when in a span of 1:19 Wojtek Wolski and Paul Stastny scored two critical goals to secure the victory for Colorado.

What’s Next: The Avs will look to win the series on Saturday night in Denver, in front of what should be a raucous home crowd. Though hockey failed in Denver the first time around (with the atrocious Rockies), the Avs have built a strong fan base over the past 13 years. Longtime captain Joe Sakic has been reunited with former mates Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote for this year’s stretch run, and it would certainly be a great storyline if they were to win a third Cup together.

Game Six
Avalanche 2, Wild 1
by Kevin Greenstein

Why the Avalanche Won: With their 2-1 win in Game Six—and their 4-2 victory in this series—the Avs demonstrated that they just might have what it takes to win the Cup. They played an incredibly disciplined game, not giving Minnesota a single power play opportunity. And though the Avs’ play with the man advantage didn’t bear any fruit (they went 0-5), the time the Wild spent killing penalties clearly tired them out. But the biggest reason the Avs won was, once again, Jose Theodore. After nearly a half-decade of mediocre play, the former Hart Trophy winner has re-emerged as a difference-maker for the Avs this season, and his play in this first round series was nothing short of stellar.

Why the Wild Lost: An inability to put the puck past Theodore was the Wild’s biggest problem, and it’s clear that GM Doug Risebrough needs to address the fact that the team’s purported best player didn’t step up when the games mattered most. Winger Marian Gaborik is inarguably one of the NHL’s most exciting gamebreakers, but he was effectively invisible for much of this series, tallying but one assist (and a minus-three rating) in six games. And though Brian Rolston (six points in six games, plus-four) and Mikko Koivu (four goals in six games) picked up some of the slack, the Wild need more from Gaborik if they’re ever to take the next step and compete for the Cup.

Key Moment: When the Avs’ signed gritty forward Ryan Smyth last summer, it was with the expectation that he’d generate traffic in front of the opposing netminder and that he’d score big goals. And he surely delivered in Game Six, one-timing a pass from David Jones past Wild netminder Niklas Backstrom to score what turned out to be the series-winning goal for Colorado.

What’s Next: The Avs get a few days to rest before they’ll find out who they’ll be playing in the second round. This talented team got a nice confidence boost with their win over the Wild—particularly Theodore—and they’re now looking like a legitimate Cup contender. And for the Wild, it’s time to decide whether or not Gaborik should be a part of their future. His disappointing performance in this series won’t sit well with the fans, and it might be time to consider a roster overhaul, building around defenseman Brent Burns and Backstrom instead.