Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, front left, drives past Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon, right, to put a shot on goaltender Jesper Wallstedt in the first period of Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series, Sunday, May 3, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
By PAT GRAHAM
DENVER — Kirill Kaprizov arrived in the banquet room Monday for media availability wearing a pair of hotel slippers.
The Minnesota forward’s attitude about the series, even after a wild 9-6 loss to Colorado in Game 1, proved just as chill as his footwear choice.
“We need better,” Kaprizov said. “We know this.”
Precisely what changes, if any, might be in store for the Wild before Game 2 on Tuesday night will be revealed in due time. Wild coach John Hynes is still weighing lineup decisions, including who might be in net.
Jesper Wallstedt had a rough evening, surrendering eight goals, in a crazy game where the Wild fell behind 3-0 early and rallied to take the lead before letting it slip away. The Avalanche scored their most playoff goals in team history.
“I think last night was a bit of an anomaly,” Hynes said. “I’m not worried about Wally. He’s got a great track record. He’s played really well. He has playoff experience and he has positive playoff experience.
“Everyone has to reboot. We all have to be better and we’re planning on doing that (Tuesday).”
Immediately after the game, Wallstedt was turning the page.
“That’s done. There’s nothing we can do about that,” said Wallstedt, who allowed a total of 14 goals in six games during a first-round series win over Dallas. “Now it’s just about analyzing, looking through that one and then let it go. … Focus on the next one.”
His teammates deflected the blame.
“Clean up some stuff and be better for Wally,” forward Mats Zuccarello said after the loss. “We gave them too many easy chances and hopefully it’s a one-off for us because we haven’t really played like that as of late.
“It doesn’t matter if it is (8-0) or (1-0) or whatever. It’s Game 1, they’re up and we have to be better as a team defensively.”
Waiting in the wings for the Wild is Filip Gustavsson, who went 28-15-6 with a 2.69 goals-against average this season. He hasn’t played since allowing five goals at St. Louis on April 13.
The Wild remain without forward Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin due to lower-body injuries. They are expected to be reevaluated before Game 3.
Hynes referred to Sunday’s goal-fest as “helter-skelter,” with 14 different players scoring. Colorado defenseman Cale Makar, who returned from a first-period injury to score twice in the third period, labeled the high-scoring contest a “one-off,” given that both teams were among the top defensive units in the regular season.
“It was a very, very unique game, the way pucks were going in the net,” Avalanche defenseman Brett Kulak said of the 10th playoff game in NHL history to feature 15 or more goals. “You’ve just got to laugh a little bit now — we’re able to anyways — that we came out on the right side of it.”
For Minnesota, it’s all about finding a way to slow the speed of Nathan MacKinnon & Co.
“You have to try to stop giving them easy offense,” Wild forward Vladimir Tarasenko said. “There’s a game plan, which will be provided to us.”
Any sneak peeks?
“I don’t think I want to talk about it right now,” Tarasenko said. “If we try to play as a unit of five, help each other, everything is possible.”
*Associated Press
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