The Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild have a rivalry based in pure hate. During the 2017-18 season, it was good to see the Avs owning the Wild.
The Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild don’t like each other. It’s not a rivalry in the grand, dramatic manner that we saw in the 1990s with the Avs and the Detroit Red Wings. I could still respect some of the Wings players even as I hated their team.
I hate every single thing about the Minnesota Wild, from their logo to their colors to their players to their name. I respect nothing.
The “rivalry” between the two teams is more one of frustrated rage rather than the respect of excellence between two great teams vying for their places in history. Neither conception of the current teams is vying for their places in history.
What’s more, for too long, the frustrated rage has been more on the Avalanche’s side. Between 2014-15 and 2016-17, the Avs went 4-11-0 against the Wild with with just 22 goals for and 46 goals against. That’s just no fun.
This season was a lot more fun. Colorado went 3-0-1 with an astounding 21 goals for and 7 goals against. That’s right, the Avalanche scored three times as many goals as Minny.
Man, that felt good. By the end of the season, Wild players were claiming the Avs were in their heads, living rent-free. For too long, the situation was reversed, so it felt so good to see Minnesota twisting in the wind.
Colorado scored 21 goals against the Wild. Let’s look at some of the highlights of those goals.