Avs put up 9 goals in outscoring Wild in series opener

Field Level Media|published: Mon 4th May, 24:12 2026

May 3, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nick Blankenburg (37) celebrates his goal scored against the Minnesota Wild during the second period in game one of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Cale Makar scored twice in the third period, Nazem Kadri also had a goal in the third, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 9-6 in a high-scoring Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Sunday night in Denver.

Makar added an assist, Devon Toews had a goal and three assists, Nathan MacKinnon added a goal and two assists, Artturi Lehkonen and Sam Malinski each contributed a goal and an assist, and Nick Blankenburg and Jack Drury also scored for Colorado.

Game 2 is Tuesday night in Denver.

Quinn Hughes had a goal and two assists, and Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Johansson, Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno scored for Minnesota, which rallied from down 3-0 early to take a brief lead late in the second period.

The game was tied 5-all when Makar, who shook off an early injury, got a pass from MacKinnon in the right circle and wristed a shot high past Jesper Wallstedt at 3:21. Kadri padded the lead at 5:43 of the third with a breakaway goal.

Wallstedt turned away 34 of 42 shots in the game.

Zuccarello gave the Wild life when the puck went off his leg and in at 16:01, but Makar answered at 17:06. MacKinnon added an empty-netter to seal it.

Martin Necas had three assists and Valeri Nichushkin contributed two assists for the Avalanche.

Scott Wedgewood had 10 of his 30 saves in the third period to make the lead stand up for Colorado

Malinski, Drury and Lehkonen scored 2:01 apart midway through the first period to give the Avalanche a 3-0 lead. Johansson and Hartman answered with goals a minute apart to cut it to 3-2.

The second period continued the scoring trend. Blankenburg scored 4:16 into the second to make it 4-2, and Tarasenko answered at 6:45 to get the Wild back in it.

Hughes tied it when his shot through a screen beat Wedgewood at 12:43 of the second, and Foligno scored a short-handed goal at 16:55 to give Minnesota a 5-4 lead.

Toews tied it again when he scored at 18:04, seconds after the Wild killed off a power play.

--Field Level Media