Avalanche ready for tough challenge against Wild in Round 2

The switch has been flipped now that the Colorado Avalanche know they will face the Minnesota Wild in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“A really good team. Feel like they play similar like us, and it’s going to be tight battle. They have some great players. So do we, and both teams are very deep,” Martin Necas said. “It’ll be about little things. Our special teams got to be sharp, and we’re excited for this.”

As the Avs advance, the intensity rises with each series. The level of competition increases and details are even more important in each game.

“If you want to have a chance of winning the whole thing, you got to bring your best game as the playoff goes along,” Nicolas Roy said. “We can be better than we were in the first round. And that’s our goal.”

Discipline is important for Avs in Round 2

Round 1 was a tight, physical series against the Los Angeles Kings. The matchup against the Wild will be physical as well, but it is expected to be an even battle between the teams.

“It’s gonna be physical. They got some big guys. Added a couple big guys, physical on the back end. So last year was physical. But I think no matter who you’re playing now, it’s going to be the same way and stronger as you continue to play on,” Brock Nelson said. “We have to be ready for that match. They’re a great fore-checking team. They get two, three, fours down in there in D, they can get up and close down, be physical in the winger. Have to be ready for that and match it.”

Head coach Jared Bednar knows his team needs to amp up its competitiveness when facing the Wild.

“They’re a top-five team in the league. From the Olympic break on, they’re a top-five offensive team in the league, and a top-10 defending team in the league. Over that course, they were locked in for a while, into that third spot in our division,” Bednar said. “Played some different guys and rested some guys and still had those numbers. And you watch the Dallas series, and they’re a good, well-rounded hockey team. They won the five-on-five battle when it comes to goals by a great margin. And they’ve got two good special teams as well. So it’s going to be a challenge.”