Tonight the Colorado Avalanche will do something they have not done in four years. They will start a playoff series in the NHL. The Avalanche had a great season and will start their quest at home against the Minnesota Wild.

After last season most fans would of thought it would take a few years for the Avalanche to get back to the playoffs but I don’t think Patrick Roy had that in mind. He took over in the off season as the head coach and all he did was make the Avalanche winners again. That is why he will win the coach of the year in the NHL.

The Wild come to the Pepsi Center as the number one wildcard seed which they didn’t nail down until the last week of the season. The Avalanche had the better of the play against the Wild this year but this is the playoff’s which means we can throw all of the season stats out the window.

The Avalanche had a good run to end the season but now the young players who have never been in the playoffs will get their first taste. I expect them to do well in the first round, the Wild have paid out big bucks the past two off-season and haven’t really gotten a return on their money.

If the Wild beat the Avalanche in the first round that would be a huge upset in my book. I pick the Colorado Avalanche to win this six games, which could set up a killer second round match up if the St. Louis Blues can knock off the Blackhawks in their first round match up.

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