The Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild will battle tonight in Game 3 of the First Round NHL Playoffs. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on the NHL Network. Currently the Minnesota Wild are favored to win this game.

NHL Playoff Odds

Colorado, one of the best stories in the NHL this season, have stormed out to a 2-0 series lead over the Minnesota Wild. Youngster Nathan MacKinnon has played well so far in the series and his ability has fueled a young Colorado team into a serious Stanley Cup contender.

The Avs look very fast on the ice and Minnesota wasn't able to keep up in the opening two games. Colorado got a 5-4 overtime win in the opener and a 4-2 victory in the second game of the series, allowing them to hold serve and keep home ice advantage. In tonight's game they'll look to put the Wild in a terrible position by being down 3-0 in the series. 

But Minnesota was a dominant team in home games this season. The Wild were 26-10-5 at home, the seventh-best mark in the league, but they were terrible on the road. In the NHL Playoffs we always look for the hold team to have an advantage in these games, but it is worth noting that Colorado was one of the best road teams in the league, going 26-11-4 this year. Minnesota is great at home, but Colorado being a very good road team certainly makes this game a lot more interesting.

The Wild need to get a goalie that finds his groove and can be consistent. Ilya Bryzgalov was the main guy heading into the post season for Minnesota, but he was pulled in the second game because of poor play. Minnesota put Darcy Kuemper in the contest and stopped all 14 shots. Minnesota will probably continue to go with Bryzgalov, who does have a lot of post season experience. He's been in the playoffs with a lot of teams but hasn't necessarily had a great amount of success.

UPDATE: Kuemper was tabbed as the starter for this game just after 1:45 p.m. on Monday.

Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov has played pretty well in this series so far. He won 41 games during the regular season and has a 2.88 goals against average in the two games while saving nearly 91 percent of the shots he has faced. 

It's hard to see the Avalanche win yet again here tonight. They were a very good team on the road again this season, but Minnesota is in must-win mode right now. The Wild need to come out early and get a mark on the board so they don't press and make mistakes. We think the Wild will take advantage of being at home tonight and gain some confidence moving forward in the series.

Free Pick: Minnesota 4, Colorado 2

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