![Image](http://cdn.nhl.com/images/logos/75/col.gif)
![Image](http://cdn.nhl.com/images/logos/75/min.gif)
MINNESOTA WILD
(No. 3; 0-0 Western Conference Quarterfinals; 0-0 overall)
vs.
COLORADO AVALANCHE
(No. 6; 0-0 Western Conference Quarterfinals; 0-0 overall)
Television Broadcast:
Twin Cities broadcast on KSTC.TV Channel 45
Duluth/Superior broadcast on My 9
Sioux City/Rapid City broadcast on Channel 26
Grand Forks broadcast on Channel 27
Fargo broadcast on Channel 9
Austin, Albert Lea, Rochester, Mankato broadcast on Charter Mainstreet Channel 14
Radio Broadcast:
WCCO 830 AM or always online at www.wild.com
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PREVIEW:
Reset the records. Reset the head-to-head information. And reset your calendar to Playoffs 2008.
Mark Parrish said as much yesterday in the Wild locker room, when, casually talking to a reporter, he threw out the oft-invoked playoff cry, "It's a new season." Forgive the cliché and understand what this means to players.
It is a glorious grind, this playoffs thing.
It is a glorious grind, this playoffs thing. There may be no more grueling trip in sports than a run through the NHL's postseason, and there may be no more hard-earned title than the Stanley Cup. Players take an extraordinary amount of lumps chasing the Cup, with the steepest mountain offering the grandest reward.
Tonight, Minnesota opens the Western Conference Quarterfinals at home, the fruits of its laborious 82-game marathon to finish first in the Northwest Division. Mark the 2007-08 season down as an historic one, as the team, through a campaign that had been considered by some to be only average at times, included starting more than 50 of its games at the top of the division. Perhaps not wire-to-wire, but no less substantial in one of hockey's top divisions.
Among those top teams in the division is Colorado, which the Wild will face for somewhere between the next four to seven games.
The Avalanche bring with it a very talented team of veterans, including Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote, key cogs in two Stanley Cup titles.
The teams are meeting for the ninth time this season, with the most recent coming in the regular season finale in Colorado, which amounted to something between an exhibition game and a preamble to the series.
"It's very simple," Jacques Lemaire said of the first round against a most familair opponent. "They have good offense. Everyone will have to be sharp on our team to beat them. And I expect everyone to be sharp. We might make a mistake that will be costly, but, in general, I'm sure they will be sharp. I look at them and they are ready to play."
Who's Hot
Pavol Demitra. Demitra enters the playoffs having scored 10 points in his previous seven games, including a four-game point streak and a pair of two-point games to close out the regular season.
Wild Keys to the Game
1. Home ice: Minnesota set wining the division as a goal for this reason. Now that it has home ice, it sure would like to keep the advantage by holding serve in Game 1.
2. Maturation: The Wild's younger guns had a taste of the playoffs in 2007, and return to the second season this time around older and wiser.
3. Peter the …: Forsberg has been a statistical animal lately, gobbling up 11 points in his previous four games.
Keep an Eye On
Sakic. Though he missed 38 games after hernia surgery this season, Sakic ranks first among active players with 82 playoff goals and 178 points, and his goal vs. Minnesota last Sunday should leave no doubt that his hands are as quick as ever. (Forsberg, for his part, ranks third among active players with 63 postseason goals and second with 172 points.).
Probable Wild Line Combos
Todd Fedoruk-Pavol Demitra-Marian Gaborik
Brian Rolston-Eric Belanger- Pierre-Marc Bouchard
Stephane Veilleux-Mikko Koivu-Branko Radivojevic
Chris Simon-James Sheppard-Derek Boogaard
Probable Defensive Pairings
Brent Burns-Keith Carney
Kim Johnsson-Petteri Nummelin
Martin Skoula-Sean Hill