Avalanche Will Play Minnesota Wild In Round 2

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn ImagesIsaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The series is set.

The Colorado Avalanche will play the Minnesota Wild in the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs. The No. 3 seed Wild eliminated the No. 2 Dallas Stars in six games, defeating them 5-2 on Thursday on home ice to close out. Minnesota won two of three games in both Dallas and Minnesota to set up the second-round matchup with the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche.

The Avalanche have been waiting to find out who they would be playing since Sunday afternoon, when they completed a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena. The start date for the series is yet to be determined, although it could start as early as Sunday.

Colorado will have home-ice advantage, meaning it will host Games 1 and 2, followed by the fifth and seventh games, if the series stretches that long.

The Wild haven’t advanced to the second round since 2015. This will be the fourth time the Avs and Wild face each other in the postseason, and the first time in 12 years. Minnesota won two of the first three meetings.

In the regular season, the Avs and Wild split the season down the middle. Both teams won in a shootout on home ice and in regulation on the road. The Wild won the first meeting on Nov. 28 in Minnesota by a final score of 3-2. That was the first game that ended in a shootout, and it ended the first of two 1-0-game winning streaks Colorado had in the regular season.

The Avs responded with a commanding 5-1 triumph on the road in December. After the Olympics, the Wild came to Denver and won 5-2 on Feb. 26. Colorado evened the series with a 3-2 shootout in the first game after the trade deadline, which included ’s re-debut with the club.