Logan O’Connor put the Avs on the board first with his fifth of the season at 3:46 of the opening period. Josh Manson caught the Wild in the middle of a line change and turned a Minnesota clearing attempt into a pass to O’Connor behind the defense.

The Colorado Avalanche finish their first back-to-back series of the new year 1-1-0. After a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, they came ready to play against the Minnesota Wild, who currently sit at 4th in the league and 2nd in the western conference.

The Minnesota Wild played host to the Colorado Avalanche for the first time this season on Thursday, Jan. 9, and the Wild caught the Avalanche in their second half of a back-to-back where they fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in the first game.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and his NHL-leading 53rd assist of the season to help the Colorado Avalanche rout the Minnesota Wild 6-1 on Thursday night.

The first impression the Wild made on the Avalanche wasn’t the team that’s top-five in the NHL and leading Colorado in the Central Division. That’s because that version wasn’t playing. After admirably overcoming injuries the last week-plus to win four in a row,

The short-handed Minnesota Wild fought for a while, but their excess of injuries ultimately proved too much to overcome in a 6-1 blowout loss to the Colorado Avalanche Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St.