Hockey Wilderness Round 1 Series Predictions

Felix: @Fel0096

Why the Wild will win:

The Wild should be able to take advantage of the Avs' key players who can't play for the start of the series at least. I'm thinking about guys like Duchene, Mitchell, and Tanguay who are all injured for instance. Also, let's not forget that both teams haven't met since January 30th; meaning that some new and different players will get to play for the Wild.

Why the Wild will lose:

Obviously, goaltending will be a huge factor for both teams. I'd say that Varlamov has the current advantage. The PK will also be an important factor. The Wild will definitely need to find a way to improve it and have to stop taking stupid penalties. They've ended up having the 4th worst penalty kill in the league this season. Not to mention, Colorado had the 5th best PP this season.

Prediction: It's going to be a great series. Wild in 6.

JS: @JSLandry20

Why the Wild will win:

Why the Wild will lose:

Patrick Roy and Semyon Varlamov. Roy should win the Jack Adams trophy for bringing this garbage team to the top of the Central Division. Of course, drafting Nathan McKinnon helped a lot too. This kid will probably be the player to watch in this series, because he will either flourish in the playoffs, or crash and burn under the pressure. The Avs have also had the Wild's number this season, winning 4 of the 5 matchups, but the playoffs are a whole other beast.

Prediction: Wild in 6.

Tony: @tonywiseau

Why the Wild will win:

Why the Wild will lose:

Prediction: Wild in 6

Aaron: @The_Noogie

Why the Wild will win:

By scoring more goals than Colorado in 4 games out of 6.

Why the Wild will lose:

A black hole opens up in the center of the Earth and we are sucked into oblivion, but then really, don't we all lose?

Prediction: Wild win series in 6 games.

Eric: @goon48

Why the Wild will win:

Why the Wild will lose:

Agnes: @brigid22

Neither team will win, neither team will lose. During a pivotal game 6, deadlocked in the second overtime, the fans, rather disgruntled with each other, will begin attacking each other in the stands. The melee will eventually spread until the fans overtake the ice and begin attacking the teams. There are no survivors for a game 7. This is the largest mass bloodshed the city of St Paul has ever seen.

However, with the blood of its enemies staining the ice at the X, the reborn Wild are triumphant the following year.

Ger: @GerDevine

Why the Wild will win:

For all their success this year, I think the Avs have some serious underlying frailties that can be exposed. Their defence is particularly mediocre and their forward lines are very top heavy. If Varlamov's form slips, they could be in trouble. They are one of the worst puck possession teams in the league riding some pretty unsustainable percentages and that house of cards has to come down at some point.

Not that the Wild are all that great but they have turned it on at times this season and looked like a really strong team but if they want to beat the Avs, the offensive play needs to drastically improve.

Why the Wild will lose:

If the Avs keep riding the luck they've had through the regular season with their goaltending and shooting percentage then the Wild could find it hard to beat them. Also, the Wild have really disappeared at times this year and drastically underperformed their talent level. Bryzgalov has a reputation for poor performances in the playoffs.

Prediction: Wild in 5 games

Joe: @JoeBou15

Why the Wild will win:

The shutdown line of Cooke-Brodziak-Niederreiter does a fantastic job of containing the high flying kids of Colorado. My guess is that each game will be a close scoring game and the third line will absolutely have to on top of their game in order for the Wild to pull off the upset. Bryzgalov will have to be a brick wall between the pipes for the Wild and the Wild special teams will have to have improved in the two days of practice since Sunday's regular season finale. Minnesota has a better team GAA at 2.41 compared to the Avalanche's GAA of 2.63. I think it will be a race to three goals and the team that gets there first will win.

Why the Wild will lose:

Prediction: Avalanche in 7 games