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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With veteran defensemen Brock Faber, Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon all missing with various ailments and newcomer David Jiricek making his Wild debut, the back end was sure to be at least part

Yakov Trenin and Brock Faber scored goals 1:35 apart early in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 in Denver on Monday.

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.

This is the obvious one. Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL with 68 points, seven more than Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl in second place. Also of note, he’s first in points per game at 1.58, narrowly ahead of the Art Ross winner last season, Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov at 1.57.

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 (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 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.

After recovering from stomach flu, Fleury was the best Wild player on the ice — by far — in lifting the Wild to a 3-1 win over the Sharks.