After being atop the NHL in December, the Minnesota Wild are in desperate need of wins just to get back into the playoff picture. On Sunday, the Wild take on the Colorado Avalanche, who they have found success against recently, winning each of their last two games.
Minnesota currently sits at 66 points, seven out from the No. 8 Dallas Stars in the Western Conference playoff standings. Their opponent is also on the outside looking in, three points behind the No. 8 seed.
Both teams are coming off really ugly, demoralizing losses -- the Avs lost 5-1 to the Penguins on Saturday and the Wild lost 6-0 to the Red Wings on Friday. Therefore, one team will have to come away with a win on Sunday and possibly even acquire some hope heading into their final 15-16 games of the season. These two teams play again in Colorado on Tuesday.
Nike Palmieri and Cal Clutterbuck are questionable for the Wild with upper-body injuries. Starting goaltender Niklas Backstrom is out with a lower body injury.
Puck drops at 7 p.m.
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