In late April, the Minnesota Wild pulled off something they hadn't done in over a decade: win a playoff series. Down 2-1 against Dallas and trailing by a goal in Game 4, they faced the very real possibility of heading back to Texas with elimination looming. Instead, they tied it up, snatched victory in overtime, and stormed through the next two games to punch their ticket to Round 2.

But Monday night in Round 2, the Wild got a harsh reminder of what happens when a truly great team bounces back.

After routing Colorado 5-1 in Game 3 to even the series, Minnesota came into Game 4 with momentum. They jumped out to an early lead, but the powerhouse Avalanche—fresh off a dominant regular season—quickly turned the tables. Colorado controlled long stretches of play, suffocating the Wild at every turn. Trailing in the third period, Minnesota clawed back to tie the game 2-2 on Nico Sturm's first playoff goal since 2021, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.

Then, the Avalanche showed why they're the NHL's best regular season team, now 7-1 in the playoffs. Right after Sturm's goal, Colorado pinned Minnesota in their own zone and didn't let up until Parker Kelly buried the game-winner. Two empty-net goals later, the Avalanche skated away with a 5-2 win and a commanding 3-1 series lead.

"They're a good team too. They're gonna have good shifts. They're gonna have pushes," said Wild forward Matt Boldy. "You gotta try and limit those. There's not really much of an answer for it. Those shifts are big. We know that. But the game's not always gonna go perfectly. And they're a good team too. We think we left a little out there tonight."

For Sturm, who won the Stanley Cup with Colorado back in 2022, the trouble started long before his goal reignited the sellout crowd. "We made bad decisions with the puck tonight, especially in the first half of the game," he admitted with brutal honesty. "To be honest, we probably didn't deserve to win when you take the whole game into perspective. I felt like we started playing with about seven or eight minutes left in the second period—that's when we found our game. At both blue lines, that team is too good to get away with turning pucks over or not getting pucks out. When you take the whole game, the final score is probably where it was supposed to be."

The Colorado coach described his team's response to silencing the Minnesota crowd as "tenacious." "There was no hesitation on our forecheck," said Jared Bednar. "Guys were skating, they weren't coasting in, so we came up with some turnovers." For an Avalanche team determined to hang a fourth championship banner inside Ball Arena, that relentless attack is exactly what makes them so dangerous.