Minnesota Wild vs Colorado Avalanche Pick & Prediction - 2/26/2026
The Minnesota Wild head into their Thursday night showdown against the Colorado Avalanche with plenty on the line as both teams contend for positioning in the Western Conference standings. Minnesota has been excellent away from home, while Colorado continues to sit at the top of the league thanks to a great start to their season. Before the puck drops in Denver, continue reading to get my Wild vs Avalanche prediction on the ice.
Pick: Colorado Avalanche to win ATS PRO
Confidence: 3 out of 5
Recent form
Minnesota has been trending positively recently, winning five of its last six road games and posting a string of five straight victories prior to the Olympic break. They’ve also been involved in plenty of high‑scoring affairs, with the over hitting frequently in their recent contests. Colorado got a win to resume its season on Wednesday night, beating the Utah Mammoth 4-2 for its second straight win and third in four games.
Goaltending
Colorado’s goaltending has been solid in 2025‑26, with Scott Wedgewood posting a strong save percentage and goals‑against average in net. Mackenzie Blackwood has also had a good year and is expected to start here. Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson has been reliable as well, posting a respectable save percentage and keeping the Wild competitive in close games. He will take the crease for the Wild in this contest.
Key skaters
Minnesota’s offense is led by the dynamic duo of Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, who have combined for significant point totals this season. Kaprizov, in particular, is among the Wild’s leading scorers and generates plenty of offensive chances. Boldy is coming off a nice Olympic tournament for Team USA and it will be interesting to see how involved he is in this game.
Colorado counters with Nathan MacKinnon, one of the league’s most consistently productive players, who leads his team in points and often drives the Avalanche’s top line. Both teams also have depth capable of tipping the balance in special teams situations in their favor.
Score Projection: Wild 3 – Avalanche 4 ATS PRO
Win Probability: Wild 45%, Avalanche 55% ATS PRO
It's never ideal having to play on the second leg of a back-to-back and that is the situation the Avs are in on Thursday night. But I'm still going to take the Avalanche to win this game on home ice, where they have been spectacular throughout this season. The Wild will give this game everything they have, but it won't be enough against the best team in the NHL this year.
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