May 9, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Parker Kelly (17) on a breakaway against Minnesota Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (30) in the first period of game three of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Grand Casino Arena. (Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images)
Kirill Kaprizov and Brock Faber each recorded a goal and two assists, powering the Minnesota Wild to a commanding 5-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series Saturday night in Saint Paul, Minn.
Quinn Hughes added a goal and an assist for Minnesota, which trimmed the series deficit to 2-1 in the best-of-seven matchup. Ryan Hartman and Matt Boldy also scored for the Wild.
Nathan MacKinnon netted the Avalanche’s lone goal, handing Colorado its first postseason defeat after entering the night with a perfect 6-0 record.
Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt stopped 34 of 35 shots to secure the win.
Avalanche netminder Scott Wedgewood was pulled in the second period after allowing three goals on 12 shots. Mackenzie Blackwood made his postseason debut in relief and turned aside 12 of 13 shots.
Game 4 is scheduled for Monday night in Minnesota.
Minnesota jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. Kaprizov opened the scoring with 4:49 remaining, racing toward the net to take a pass from Faber and finishing with a wrist shot from the left side of the crease.
Hughes doubled the lead less than two minutes later, handling the puck from the left circle to the top of the slot and firing a wrist shot through traffic for a power-play goal.
Another power-play tally made it 3-0 at 4:23 of the second period. Hartman parked in front of the crease and knocked in a point shot from Mats Zuccarello.
Colorado answered with 6:49 left in the second when Wallstedt stopped the initial shot, but MacKinnon spotted the rebound and punched it in for a power-play goal.
The Wild responded just 20 seconds later as Faber scored on a deflection to push the lead to 4-1 with 6:29 remaining in the period.
Boldy capped the scoring with an empty-net goal with 3.3 seconds left in regulation.
