If NHL rivalries are created in the playoffs, then the Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche should be the truest of rivals as the Wild have faced the Avs in the first round of the playoffs in three of their four total playoff appearances.
The upstart young Avs are led my Colorado legends of the recent past in Coach Patrick Roy and Executive Vice President of hockey operations, Joe Sakic. The Avs have remarkably gone from worst to second in the Western Conference in just one season under the leadership of newly appointed head coach, Patrick Roy.
The Wild are led by Head Coach Mike Yeo and GM Chuck Fletcher. Yeo has shown resiliency in having survived being on the proverbial hot seat three times in the last 12 months. Fletcher continues to add pieces to the Wild roster and appears to be at the point where the Wild should regularly qualify for the NHL playoffs. Suffice it to say that should Fletcher have a good off season attracting quality players, the window for the Wild to compete for and win a Stanley Cup should officially be “opened….
The real question for me with both the Wild and the Avs is whether their runs up to this point are bona fide or do they involve an element of smoke and mirrors? The biggest knock I see against the Avs is their youth. However, that may be their biggest upside also. However, for many Avalanche players, this will be their first taste of the NHL post-season. How they handle the excitement and/or any adversity they face will, perhaps, determine how far they can go. As the Wild are concerned, their run of wins to end the season was impressive in terms of the quality of their opponents that they were beating, however many of their opponents were not fielding starting line ups worthy of opening night of the playoffs.
As far as I can tell, the Avs are younger, faster and have the edge in offense, goaltending and special teams. The Wild have the edge in defense. So, what wins playoff games, offense or defense? To me, it seems a bit like the Minnesota Golden Gophers taking on Union this past week in the NCAA Frozen Four Championship from a style of play perspective. Union was the fast attack offense, much like I expect Colorado to try to be whereas the Gophers, like the Wild, were better known for their strong defensive play. Goaltending may well be the difference and the Wild need to play well in front of Bryz, defensively, in order to have a chance in the first round. Additionally, the Wild need to be better at getting bodies and pucks to the net. Colorado’s only weakness appears to be on the defensive side of the puck. That will be how you beat Varlamov, in my opinion.
Lastly, the Wild first faced off against the Avs in the 2003 playoffs where, I believe, the Avs were the 2nd seeded team in the West and the young upstart Wild were 7th. As everyone remembers, the Wild defeated the Avs in 7 games with a classic overtime goal by Minnesota's Andrew Brunette that ended Patrick Roy's career as a player. Then, in 2008, the Wild had won the division and were the higher seeded team against the lower seeded Avs and lost in the first round series.
So, who do you like in this series and why?