The Colorado Avalanche has hit a snag on its potential climb to the top of the Central Division, and the most surprising part is what’s currently the biggest issue. When the Avs stumbled to a 14-13 start,

Some of the issues that looked fixed two days ago in a decisive win against the Dallas Stars were again troubling for the Colorado Avalanche in a loss to the Minnesota Wild.

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Kirill Kaprizov last played on Dec. 23, scoring his team-leading 23rd goal of the season in a win over the Chicago Blackhawks. He did not make the team’s post-Christmas trip to Dallas.

Yakov Trenin scored against his former team early in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Monday.

The Minnesota Wild hosted the Colorado Avalanche for their first season meeting on Thursday evening, Jan. 9. The Wild were still without Kirill Kaprizov, Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon, and Jakub Lauko.

Kaprizov has missed the past 10 games with a lower-body injury that has required lots of treatments and pushed-back timetables.

MacKinnon is the most likely Avalanche player to take advantage of a Wild defense that is bleeding shots. Not only is he the best shot-generator on the team, but the Wild have allowed the second-most shots to centers in the NHL over the past few weeks.

The Minnesota Wild (27-15-4) are back in action tonight for one more game on the road before they return home. They will face the Colorado Avalanche (28-18-1) today for a 2:00 p.m. central time start.

The Minnesota Wild feel a sense of urgency despite having nearly half a season left to play. After losing three in a row and four of their last five games, the Wild will look to turn things around on Monday afternoon against the host Colorado Avalanche in Denver.

In the second of three-consecutive Central-Division matchups, the Avalanche host the Minnesota Wild. Monday marks the second of four meetings between the teams this season, as they’ll meet in Denver on February 28 and in St. Paul on March 11.