Yup, the Minnesota Wild sure do own the Avalanche.
Ask any Colorado player "Who's your daddy?" and the answer should be obvious.
The Wild did it again Saturday, keeping the Avalanche hemmed in their own zone and shutting them down in a 3-0 win that wasn't really that close. The Avalanche wasted a strong game from goalie Semyon Varlamov, who stopped 41 of 43 shots before Jason Pominville scored into an empty net with 62 seconds remaining. The Wild's 44 shots were a season high.
Maybe the Avalanche's 20th anniversary team members can provide some inspiration for Monday's rematch at the Pepsi Center, where this season's team has gone a dreadful 3-6-1.
The Wild have outscored the Avalanche 7-0 since falling behind 4-1 heading to the third period in the season opener. They've shut out Colorado four times in the past seven games, have won eight of the past nine games since the Avalanche took a 3-2 lead in their 2014 playoff series and 10 of 12 since the Avalanche grabbed a 2-0 lead in that series.
The Wild outshot the Avalanche 17-6 in the first period Saturday and 15-4 in the third. The Avalanche's 20 shots for the game came two nights after they had a season low 18 in a 2-1 win against the New York Rangers.
The Avalanche didn't record a shot on either of their two power plays. They went 0-for-8 with the man advantage on the road trip.
Matt Dumba scored late in the second period and Justin Fontaine early in the third.
Wild backup goalie Darcy Kuemper came in cold midway through the second period in a scoreless game when Devan Dubnyk left with an injury -- he had an MRI Sunday and will miss at least one game with what coach Mike Yeo said is a mild groin strain.
Dubnyk faced 11 shots up to that point. Kuemper made nine saves the rest of the way to complete the team shutout and was credited with his first win in three decisions this season.
Kuemper will start Monday and Niklas Backstrom will suit up for the first time this year as the backup.
"Anytime you get thrown in there, you’re just trying to get into it as soon as you can and as quick as possible, so I was spraying the water on my face and trying to get loose,… Kuemper told Minnesota reporters. “The guys did a really good job of allowing me to work my way into the game. They didn’t give up much.…
No, they sure didn't, which has been the trend pretty much every time the teams play.
The Avalanche (11-15-1) won their two previous games and finished 2-2-0 on the four-game trip. They'll play Pittsburgh on Wednesday to end a two-game homestand and hit the road again for three Central Division games against Nashville, St. Louis and Chicago.
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The Avalanche will introduce the 20 members of their 20th anniversary team, as voted by fans, before Monday's game. The team includes 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies. Former general manager Pierre Lacroix also will be honored.
Forwards: Adam Deadmarsh, Chris Drury, Matt Duchene, Peter Forsberg, Milan Hejduk, Valeri Kamensky, Gabriel Landeskog, Claude Lemieux, Joe Sakic, Paul Stastny, Alex Tanguay, Stephane Yelle
Defensemen: Rob Blake, Ray Bourque, Adam Foote, Erik Johnson, John-Michael Liles, Sandis Ozolinsh
Goalies: Patrick Roy, Semyon Varlamov