Wild Will Try To Even Series Against Avalanche Tonight

The Minnesota Wild will try to even their NHL playoff series at a game apiece tonight against the Colorado Avalanche, after dropping the series opener 5-4 in overtime Thursday night in Denver. The puck drops at 8:30 pm CT for game two of the best of seven series, and can be seen on Fox Sports North.

Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper (upper body) will be back as the backup to Ilya Bryzgalov, while forward Jason Zucker (quad), defenseman Keith Ballard (groin) and goaltenders Josh Harding (illness) and Niklas Backstrom (abdominal) are out.

On Thursday night, the Wild had a two-goal third period lead, before Colorado tied it up, and eventually getting the game winner in overtime. After opening the series with the first two games in Denver, the series will shift to St. Paul for game 3 on Monday night.