To say the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild know each other well is an understatement.
The teams played eight times during the regular season, with Minnesota earning five wins and 11 points. Four of the games were decided by one goal. And they played twice in the final three games of the regular season.
"We've seen them a lot and they've seen us a lot," Avalanche captain Joe Sakic said. "We've played some real close games and we're excited to get a chance to face them in a seven-game series."
Minnesota is the -130 money line favorite for tonight’s game on WagerWeb.com, with an over/under of 5 goals.
The Wild are in an unfamiliar role, as the Northwest Division champs, No. 3 seed and home team for this first-round series. In 2003, the Avalanche was heavy favorites and held a 3-1 lead before Minnesota rallied to win three straight.
The Avs certainly have the experience factor Sakic and Peter Forsberg, 12 years after they won their first of two Stanley Cups together with the Avs, is ready for another run. Adam Foote and Milan Hejduk are still around, too, from the 2001 championship team. Ryan Smyth, once a star in Edmonton and now a third-line wing on Colorado's potent attack, played for the Oilers in the 2006 Cup finals.
Forsberg, Foote and Sakic helped guide the Avalanche to Stanley Cups in 1996 and 2001. Forsberg and Foote left the team following the 2004-05 lockouts, but have returned after Colorado missed the playoffs for the first time in 12 years last season.Sakic ranks first among active players with 82 playoff goals and 178 points (eighth and 11th all-time, respectively), while Forsberg is third among active players with 63 postseason goals and second with 172 points (23rd and 15th all-time).
Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville downplayed the experience factor, insisting that Sakic even "gets the jitters" before postseason games begin.
The Avalanche went 5-0-1 in their final six games, including a 4-3 shootout win over Minnesota on Sunday. Forsberg had three assists in that contest.
”It’s good to know we can beat those guys,” Colorado’s Ian Laperriere said. “You don’t know what can happen at the end. It’s better to be sixth instead of seventh.”
The Avalanche, however, was 0-3-1 in Minnesota this season, extending their losing streak there to five games.
Minnesota, which went 4-0-1 in its last five games, will be hoping for a big series from Niklas Backstrom, who won a franchise-record 33 games this season. Backstrom was 1-4-0 with a 2.22 goals-against average in last year’s playoffs, but is 18-2-6 with a 1.60 GAA in 28 career regular-season games in March and April. He is 4-1 against the Avalanche this season and 7-1-1 in his career.
Minnesota suffered a big blow on Monday when defenseman Nick Schultz, probably its best pure defender, had an appendectomy that will certainly keep him out for the series -- if not longer.
Petteri Nummelin, who played in only 27 games this season, will take Schultz's spot.
Betting trends: Avs are 9-3 in their last 12 games following a win. ... Under is 9-3-1 in Avs’ last 13 road games. ... Wild are 5-13 in their last 18 Wednesday games. ... Under is 14-6-1 in Wild’s last 21 Wednesday games. ... Under is 8-0 in the teams last 8 meetings in Minnesota. ... Home team is 9-1 in the last 10 meetings.
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