Avalanche On Standby as Wild Push Stars to Brink of Elimination

Jerome Miron-Imagn ImagesJerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Wild are one victory away from advancing to the second round and facing the Colorado Avalanche.

Minnesota defeated the Dallas Stars 4-2 in Game 5 on Tuesday to take a 3-2 series lead. They’ll get their first crack at finishing the series in Game 6 at home on Thursday. If they win, it would be their first second-round appearance in 11 years. More importantly, it would officially begin the Avalanche’s preparation for their second-round matchup. If Dallas wins, Game 7 will be played in Dallas on Saturday.

The Avs took the last two days off following their first-round sweep of the Los Angeles Kings, which concluded Sunday afternoon. They’ll take the ice on Wednesday morning for practice without knowing who they’ll face just yet.

If the Wild end the series on Thursday, it’s possible that Game 1 could be played as early as this weekend, if not early next week. The Avs will have home-ice advantage regardless of which team they face.

Colorado hasn’t played Minnesota in the postseason since Nathan MacKinnon’s rookie season in 2013-14. The Avs led 2-0 and 3-2 in that series before falling in overtime of Game 7. Before that, Colorado ousted the Wild in six games in 2008, but lost to them again in Game 7 overtime, in Patrick Roy’s final playoff series in 2003.

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