The Minnesota Wild have been pushed to the brink of elimination by the Colorado Avalanche after a 5-2 loss in Game 4 on Monday night. The Wild will now to win a game in Colorado’s home ice where they have a 4-0 record during this year’s playoffs. In the regular season, the Avs had a 26-9-6 record at home in Denver’s Ball Arena.
On Monday night, Danila Yurov gave the Wild the lead with a power play goal in the first period. Avs’ Nazem Kadri equalized in the second period on the power play. Ross Colton gave Colorado the lead 6:56 into the third period. Moments after the game was equalized again when Nico Sturm scored for the Wild. Parker Kelly scored the eventual game-winner, after which Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson scored scored two empty net goals to give the Avalanche a 3-1 series lead.
“A lot was due to our kind of arrogance of just not getting it in and just going to work … A lot of east-west. Honestly, it was kind of just brain fog. It just wasn’t how we played Game 3, and it comes back to bite you. We’ve just got to play our best,” said Marcus Foligno.
How to watch Avalanche vs Wild Game 5
TV & Streaming options: TNT, truTV, HBO Max, Sportsnet, TVAS, CBC
Puck drop: 6 p.m. MT, 7 p.m. CT, 8 p.m. ET @ Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Avalanche vs Wild Game 5 Preview
After missing Game 4, both Sam Malinski and Arturi Lehkonnen were spotted on the ice during team practice on Tuesday. When asked about their playing status for Game 5, Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said:
“They got dinged up the game before. We’ll see how both those guys present tomorrow and just make decisions from there. Both upper-body, day-to-day.”
The Minnesota Wild will be without forward Joel Eriksson Ek and defenceman Jonas Brodin, both of whom have sustained lower-body injuries and have not travelled with the team to Colorado for a must-win Game 5.
Also read: P.K. Subban names $47.1 Wild superstar as his NHL playoffs MVP – “He’s a special player”
Avs vs Wild Head-to-head Stats
Here’s how both teams square up in key stats across the 2025-26 regular season and playoffs so far:
Avalanche projected lines for Game 5
Lehkonen – MacKinnon – Necas
Landeskog – Nelson – Nichushkin
Colton – Kadri – Roy
Kelly – Drury – O’Connor
Toews – Makar
Kulak – Burns
Malinski – Manson
Blackwood
Wedgewood
Wild projected lines for Game 5
Kaprizov – Hartman – Zuccarello
Johansson – Yurov – Boldy
Tarasenko – McCarron – Trenin
M. Foligno – Sturm – N. Foligno
Hughes – Faber
Hunt – Spurgeon
Middleton – Bogosian
Wallstedt
Avalanche vs Wild Game 5 odds and prediction
The Colorado Avalanche are favorites to win Game 5, at -210, while the Minnesota Wild are the underdogs, at +172. The puck line is set at +1.5 for the Wild, at -154, i.e., they have to win outright or lose by just one goal to cover the spread. The Avalanche, at +126, have to win by two goals or more to cover a -1.5 spread. The over/under is set at 6.5 goals.
Score prediction: Colorado Avalanche 6, Minnesota Wild 3
Avalanche vs Wild Game 5 betting tips:
- Over/under: Over 6.5 goals (-104)
- Money line: Colorado Avalanche to win (-210)
- Puck line: Avalanche cover +1.5 spread (+126)
Edited by Srihari Anand
