Open Thread: Round 2 Game 4, Colorado Avalanche at Minnesota Wild (6:00 p.m.)
Blackwood expected to get the start tonight.
SAINT PAUL, MN - MAY 9: Danila Yurov #22 of the Minnesota Wild and Logan O'Connor #25 of the Colorado Avalanche battle for the puck in Game Three of the Second Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Grand Casino Arena on May 9, 2026 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images After suffering their first loss of these playoffs against the Minnesota Wild by a final score of 5-1, the Colorado Avalanche look to bounce back tonight in Minnesota for Game 4 and hopefully take a 3-1 series lead. Colorado Avalanche The Avs arguably played their worst game of these playoffs in Game 3, and the final score reflected that.
Colorado was really unable to get anything going offensively in that game, and Minnesota was able to control a vast majority of the play. To be fair, Game 3 was a bit of a ‘must-win’ for the Wild after going down 2-0 in the series, so it was expected that they were going to push back and fight to get back into the series. Now, the Avs have the opportunity to respond tonight and put the Wild on the brink of elimination.
One big change for the Avalanche as Mackenzie Blackwood took morning skate in the “starter’s net”. Josh Manson and Joel Kiviranta also participated in morning skate. Jared Bednar wouldn’t confirm any changes, though.
Projected Lineup Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas Artturi Lehkonen – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin Ross Colton – Nazem Kadri – Nic Roy Parker Kelly – Jack Drury – Logan O’Connor Devon Toews – Cale Makar Brett Kulak – Sam Malinski Josh Manson – Brent Burns Mackenzie Blackwood Scott Wedgewood Minnesota Wild After falling behind 2-0 in the series, it was expected that Minnesota was going to push back and get back into this series. The Wild are too talented to get swept, and they showed exactly what they could do in Game 3. As previously mentioned, they were able to control a large portion of the play in that game and get their offense going.