2 Wild players most to blame for Game 4 loss to Avalanche

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2 Wild players most to blame for Game 4 loss to Avalanche

Steve Silverman, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Tue, May 12, 2026 ·

4 min read

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2 Wild players most to blame for Game 4 loss to Avalanche appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

This was going to be a difficult game for the Minnesota Wild to win and square their series against the Colorado Avalanche . The Presidents Trophy winners were inspired after getting significantly outplayed in Game 3 and suffering their first loss in the Stanley Cup playoffs. They were also going up against an injured Minnesota team that did not have center Joel Erikson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin .

Those circumstances worked against the Wild, but they did not determine the outcome of the game. Minnesota lost by a 5-2 margin to the Avs. The Wild came to play in Game 3 by playing a fast, hard-hitting and determined game that resulted in a 5-1 runaway. That did not happen Monday and head coach John Hynes did not see anything close to that type of effort Monday night. He did not get the leadership from Matt Boldy or Kapril Kaprizov that he was expecting.

Instead of dictating the pace throughout, the Wild were little more than spectators for the first half of the game. Colorado took the game to Minnesota for nearly 30 minutes as they outshot the home team 20-4. Despite that shortfall, Minnesota had a 1-0 lead into the second period when the Wild scored a power play goal midway through the first period when Danila Yurov deflected Brock Faber's shot-pass into the net and past Colorado's MacKenzie Blackwood .

Wallstedt was more than solid in goal for Wild

That lead held up well into the second period because Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt held the fort. Nazem Kadri would eventually tie the game on the power play — the 15th man-advantage goal the Wild surrendered in the postseason — and Ross Colton gave Colorado the lead in the third period.

The Wild had a response on a snap shot by Nico Sturm after taking a brilliant pass from Quinn Hughes at the 9:15 mark of the third period.

That moment of relief was short-lived because the Avalanche regained control on a wrist shot by defenseman Parker Kelly . Two empty-net goals followed and the Wild are on the brink of elimination as the series goes back to Colorado Wednesday for the possible decisive game of the series.

Boldy has struggled against the Avs

The Wild were able to survive and advance against a very strong Dallas Stars team largely because of the play of Boldy. He was on fire in that series as he scored six goals and was in the middle of a potent Minnesota attack. The Wild expected more of the same against the Avalanche, but Boldy has not come through with that kind of play in the second-round series.

He scored an empty-net goal in the Game 3 runaway, but that's the only goal he has scored in the series. Instead of setting the tone in Game 4, he was difficult to find. Boldy had just one shot on goal and he gave the puck away twice. He registered a couple of hits, but neither one had the desired impact. He had a minus-3 rating and that made it impossible for the Wild to assert themselves in this hugely important game.

Boldy had proved to be an impact player during the regular season (42 goals and 43 assists) and the first-round series. But he has failed to come through while playing against the likes of Nathan MacKinnon , Cale Makar and Marty Necas. This is going to be a difficult end-of-season performance for Boldy to live with if the series ends in Game 5.

"They're a good team, too. You know, it is what it is," Boldy said after the game, per Joe Smith of The Athletic . "For me, I have things that I have to do to get to my game and create more, and, you know, have a bigger impact."

Kaprizov certainly could do more for the Wild

Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Wild got a huge lift from Kaprizov in their Game 3 victory as he scored the opening goal of the game and had two assists. It seemed likely that he could have picked up in Game 4 where he left off in the win over the Avs, but that did not happen.

Kaprizov delivered a soft performance in Game 4 as he had just one shot on goal and he did not deliver a single hit. He had a minus-2 rating. Instead of asserting his will and showing off his explosiveness with his shooting and decisive passing, he turned in a sluggish performance.

The Wild did not get their best from their full team in Game 4. Boldy and Kaprizov let the team down. It would help if they could get Erikson Ek and Brodin back in the lineup, but they need to increase the competitive level if they are going to survive Game 5 and bring the series back to Minnesota for a possible Game 6 Friday night.

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