Preview: Wild look for first win of season at Colorado

The 2019-20 Minnesota Wild season got off to an inauspicious start in a 5-2 loss to the Nashville Predators on Thursday night. Now, the Wild travel to Denver looking to get their first win of the season as they take on Central Division rival Colorado Avalanche.

The new-look top line of Zach Parise, Eric Staal and Mats Zuccarello struggled in the season opener, earning zero scoring chances on one shot and allowing three of the Predator’s five goals. Head coach Bruce Boudreau, a line-shuffler at heart, didn’t hesitate to change things up heading into the second game of the year:

Outside of the top line and the third period, there were some bright points to last Thursday’s game. Kevin Fiala skated with purpose. Devan Dubnyk made a save-of-the-year candidate in Game 1. And, man... it’s just really good to see this again:

As for the Avalanche, their season opener showcased their high-flying offense, led by their formidable top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon. Offseason acquisition Joonas Donskoi also stood out, scoring twice in Colorado’s 5-3 win over the Calgary Flames. Expect the same lineup heading into their matchup with the Wild:

Puck drops at the Pepsi Center at 8 p.m. Central. Follow all the action on FSN-North via local cable/satellite/streaming providers, or on the radio airwaves at 100.3 FM KFAN.