The Minnesota Wild dropped the third of a four-game series with the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night, unable to solve Colorado goal Philipp Grubauer in a 2-1 defeat.
The Wild skated with the Avalanche in a scoreless tie for most of the first period until Logan O’Connor drew first blood at the 17:45 mark. O’Connor’s second goal of the season put Colorado on the board and the Avalanche doubled their lead midway through the second period with Valeri Nichuskin’s second goal of the year.
With the Wild in a 2-0 hole, Kirill Kaprizov scored a power-play marker for his third goal of the season at 13:05 of the second period.
Parise ➡️ Kaprizov. 🚨
This kid is good. #mnwild pic.twitter.com/lWdWhdVkMX
— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) February 3, 2021
With the lead cut in half, the Wild had a chance to steal a game in Denver heading into the third period. Although Minnesota had its share of chances, Grubauer was tremendous in net, making 27 saves to preserve the victory.
The Wild fell to 6-5 with the loss but will have Kevin Fiala return from a three-game suspension when Minnesota wraps up a four-game series with the Avalanche on Thursday night.
