Wild vs. Avs: It all comes down to one (point)
By Tim Johnson
103. 98. Friday, April 29. 52-22-7. Wild -1.5. 7 p.m. CST. 56-18-7. Bally Sports North
The Timberwolves might have the spotlight game in Minnesota on Friday night.
But there is plenty of intrigue with the Wild as well.
Minnesota just needs a point in the regular season finale to earn home-ice advantage in a first-round playoff matchup with St. Louis. A Blues loss to Vegas would do the job as well.
However, the guess is Minnesota — which holds a two-point advantage going into Friday (111-109) wants to handle things on their own. Even if nothing was at stake, a matchup against the rival Colorado Avalanche would be incentive enough to play hard.
If St. Louis and Minnesota are tied in points, the Blues would get home-ice on a tiebreaker.
Colorado locked up the Central Division title weeks ago, is the top-seed in the Western Conference for the NHL postseason and has little to play for against the Wild. It might mean the team might rest some of its stars for the game, including standout defenseman Cale Makar.
Cale Makar on if he'll play in Minnesota tomorrow: "Indication is most likely not."
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) April 29, 2022
If that ends up being the case, it ends a remarkable regular season for the 23-year-old.
In 77 games, he had: 28 goals, 86 points, plus-48 rating and very strong underlying metrics
Former University of Minnesota forward Ben Meyers, who signed a free-agent contract with the Avalanche earlier this month could be in the lineup, however.
The Wild, who are coming of an overtime win over Calgary on Thursday, will be without forward Mats Zuccarello again but defensemen Jared Spurgeon and Matt Dumba are expected to be back after being sidelined for two and a dozen games, respectively, with injuries.
Mats Zuccarello won’t play tomorrow and Dean Evason said he sure hopes he can play Game 1. Jared Spurgeon and Matt Dumba will return tomorrow
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) April 29, 2022
Minnesota is 1-1-1 in three previous matchups with the Avalanche this year. The Wild’s victory was a 3-2 overtime win on March 27 in the Xcel Energy Center.
The Wild hold a 32-21-5 advantage in St. Paul in the series history.
Betting odds
WynnBET has Minnesota favored by 1.5 goals in the regular-season finale between the top two teams in the Central Division. Minnesota also is the favorite on the moneyline at -120. The Avalanche are the underdog at +100 and the over/under for the matchup is listed at 6.5 goals.