With veteran defensemen Brock Faber, Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon all missing with various ailments and newcomer David Jiricek making his Wild debut, the back end was sure to be at least part

John Hynes worked overtime in the offseason to create depth and condition the Minnesota Wild, which has helped the team rank third in the Western Conference despite an onslaught of injuries. However,

The Minnesota Wild hosted the Colorado Avalanche for their first season meeting on Thursday evening, Jan. 9. The Wild were still without Kirill Kaprizov, Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon, and Jakub Lauko.

The Colorado Avalanche finish their first back-to-back series of the new year 1-1-0. After a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, they came ready to play against the Minnesota Wild, who currently sit at 4th in the league and 2nd in the western conference.

Logan O’Connor put the Avs on the board first with his fifth of the season at 3:46 of the opening period. Josh Manson caught the Wild in the middle of a line change and turned a Minnesota clearing attempt into a pass to O’Connor behind the defense.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and his NHL-leading 53rd assist of the season to help the Colorado Avalanche rout the Minnesota Wild 6-1 on Thursday night.

Brock Faber and Jonas Brodin will both be unavailable when the Minnesota Wild take on the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.

Minnesota was without its top three defensemen against high-flying Colorado, and Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin were sorely missed.

ST PAUL, Minn. — Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and his NHL-leading 53rd assist of the season to help the Colorado Avalanche rout the Minnesota Wild 6-1 on Thursday night. Mikko Rantanan and Logan O’Connor also each had a goal and an assist, Ross Colton, Parker Kelly and Artturi Lehkonen also scored, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 24 saves.

Minnesota got a first period goal from Zach Bogosian along ... part of the story versus Colorado. And that was clearly the case in the opening 20 minutes. The Avalanche struck first when the ...

(AP) Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and his NHL-leading 53rd assist of the season to help the Colorado Avalanche ... Mackenzie Blackwood made 24 saves. Zach Bogosian scored for the second straight ...