The Colorado Avalanche return home with a chance to end the series on their own ice, but they know the hardest win is often the final one.

The Avalanche carry a 3-1 lead into Game 5 of their Western Conference Second Round matchup against the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday at Ball Arena (HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC), sitting one victory away from punching their ticket to the conference final. A convincing 5-2 win in Game 4 on Monday in Minnesota flipped momentum firmly back in Colorado’s direction after a shaky Game 3 loss, and now the series shifts back to Denver where the Avalanche have been nearly untouchable.

Colorado is a perfect 4-0 at home this postseason, having already used Ball Arena as a launchpad through both the first round against the Los Angeles Kings and the opening two games of this series. The building has become both a cushion and a weapon — and now it may be the final separator.

“We feel as though our game plan last night and how we played is super repeatable,” forward Logan O’Connor told NHL.com. “Especially when you come home, the ability to feed off our fans, which have been amazing all year for us, have the last change, quick reset here with the day off today and try to get back after it tomorrow.

“The main message is the urgency, the competitiveness, the game plan, the structure are all repeatable for our group.”

Home Ice, Home Identity

That sense of control, however, comes with a warning label. As Brett Kulak noted, closing out a team is rarely as clean as it looks on paper. The Wild, now facing elimination, are expected to play their most desperate hockey of the series — the kind that can flip a game in a single shift if a favorite isn’t sharp from the opening puck drop.