Game: Minnesota Wild vs Colorado Avalanche
Date: Thursday, February 26, 2026
Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO
TV: Altitude Sports
The Colorado Avalanche (37-9-9) welcome the Minnesota Wild (34-14-10) at Ball Arena on Thursday.
The Minnesota Wild will head into their next game feeling good after earning a 6-5 victory over the Predators in their previous game. The Wild had a impressive offensive performance in this victory. In the outing, they converted 6 out of the 44 shots they attempted. They also had 2 power play opportunities and were able to score 1 goal. Minnesota tallied 11 penalty minutes in this game.
With regard to their scoring capabilities, the Minnesota Wild have notched 192 goals (7th in pro hockey) for the season and have allowed 166. For the year, they have scored 78 points and their points percentage is sitting at .672. Minnesota is sitting with 189 power play opportunities and they have notched 48 goals out of those tries, giving them a percentage of 25.40%. When playing at even strength, the Wild have surrendered 132 goals while having 144 as an offensive unit. Minnesota has tried 1,675 shots and has a shooting percentage of 11.5%. The Wild have had 1,737 shots taken against them and have a save percentage of .904. Minnesota Wild opponents have 149 power play tries (29th in the league) and have scored 34 goals in those chances.
Protecting the goal for this matchup will be Filip Gustavsson. Opponents have scored 529 goals against Gustavsson in his pro hockey career and his goals against rate is 2.70. Gustavsson has participated in 205 contests during his professional hockey career. His save percentage is .912 for his 9,046 minutes on the ice. He has an overall record of 103-68-26 and he started in 196 games. In his career, Gustavsson has recorded 120 quality starts and his quality starts rate is .612. Gustavsson has seen 5,979 shot attempts taken against him and has gathered 5,450 saves.
In their last contest, Colorado played the Sharks in a matchup where the Avalanche ended up with the win by a final score of 4-2. They had 3 chances on the power play in this contest but weren’t able to notch a goal. The Avalanche recorded 4 goals out of the 42 shots on goal they took.
The Avalanche have earned 184 goals at even strength and 27 goals (26th in the league) while having a power play advantage. Colorado has attempted 1,877 shots (1st in hockey) and has accumulated a shot percentage of 11.24%, while allowing their opponents 1,468 shots. On the season, the Colorado Avalanche have earned a total of 211 goals, 83 points, and a points percentage of .755. They have permitted 133 goals to be scored by of a combination of 110 goals at even strength and 23 goals while they had less men on the ice. They have earned 179 power play opportunities and they have accumulated a power play rate of 15.08%. They have recorded a penalty kill percentage of 84.67% on the other teams 150 opportunities on the power play, and their save percentage comes in at 90.9%.
On the other side of the ice you will find Mackenzie Blackwood defending the goal. He has recorded 7,251 stops out of the 8,000 shots taken against him, which gives him a percentage of .906. Blackwood has accumulated a lifetime record of 119-108-29 and has been in goal for 275 games. He has been a starter 258 games and has racked up 13,409 mins. Blackwood’s percentage of quality starts sits at 56.6% and he has 146 quality starts in his career. His opposition is averaging 2.90 goals per game and he has allowed 749 goals altogether.
Who will win tonight’s NHL game against the spread or moneyline?
Tony’s Pick: Take Colorado
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