3 Takeaways From the Avalanche’s 5-2 Game 4 Win Over the Wild

Aside from a handy defeat in Game 3, everything has been largely coming up for the Colorado Avalanche. They could have a ton of hardware coming their way even before the Stanley Cup is handed out next month.

Things were tight late into the third period, but the Avalanche – like most good teams – found a way to get the job done. With a 5-2 win in Game 4, the Avalanche are now just one game away from a trip to the Western Conference Finals.

Blackwood Steps Up

The most interesting bit of news coming into this game was the move to go from Scott Wedgewood to Mackenzie Blackwood in net. Wedgewood hasn’t been at his best in this series and a 5-1 thumping in Game 3 seemed to be enough for head coach Jared Bednar.

Blackwood was very good here, turning aside 19 of 21 Wild shots. He was especially good down the stretch, helping hold off the Wild until the Avalanche could pump in a pair of empty-net goals to really seal the deal.

The Avalanche are as stacked as it gets, especially in goal. When one goalie slips, they can plug in a legitimate No.1 goalie in the other’s stead. Jesper Wallstedt had the more impressive stats, but Blackwood was the calm presence that got the job done.

Parker Kelly Comes in the Clutch

No matter how you cut it, the Avalanche are dangerous from the top of the lineup to the bottom. The superstars – Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and Cale Makar – have combined for 11 goals and 26 points through the team’s eight games. But what makes them especially dangerous is that they get contributions from throughout.

Parker Kelly stepped up to deliver his first career playoff goal, and it just so happened to be the game-winning goal. Kelly lasered a shot from just inside the blueline to beat Wallstedt and give the Avalanche the lead for good.

It was also Kelly’s first point of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, making him the 19^th member of the team to register a point in these playoffs. It doesn’t matter who gets the job done and the Avalanche have a long list of options to turn to.

Avalanche Stifled the Wild Offense

Aside from a Danila Yurov power play goal midway through the first period, the Wild had a tough time creating pressure and offense. Quinn Hughes, who has been stifled in this series a bit, had to make an incredible play to set up Nico Sturm for the team’s second goal.

Through two periods, the Wild had just 12 shots on goal and it speaks to the strength of the Avalanche’s defense considering they had just 12 blocked shots on the night. They have been a dominant defensive team all season and it showed in Game 4.

Special teams negated one another thanks to power play goals from both sides, and the Avalanche made life difficult on Minnesota’s stars throughout the game. With the pressure mounting, the Wild will be facing even more scrutiny to get out from beneath the Avalanche’s thumb in Game 5.

One More to Go

The Avalanche are now just one game away from joining the Eastern Conference’s Carolina Hurricanes in the Conference Finals. The Avalanche have rarely felt threatened, aside from the aforementioned Game 3 beatdown.

It would not be a surprise to see the Wild extend this series one more game, but it feels like they are on borrowed time. The Avalanche have proven themselves to be just too strong and too deep to overcome with regularity.