Wild Vs Avalanche: Hynes Brings Olympic Experience Back as Wild Head to Ball Arena

The Minnesota Wild arrive in Denver with eyes on a key matchup, part of the ongoing wild vs avalanche narrative as the team resumes its NHL campaign at Ball Arena. Coach John Hynes returns from Milan, bringing firsthand experience from Team USA’s gold-medal run that the Wild hope will translate into on-ice gains when the season resumes.

Wild Vs Avalanche projected lines at Ball Arena

The Wild’s projected forward lines for the meeting at Ball Arena list veteran and young talent across four units, though the lineup is noted as subject to change. The top line pairs 97 Kirill Kaprizov with 38 Ryan Hartman and 36 Mats Zuccarello. Minnesota’s second line shows 90 Marcus Johansson between 14 Joel Eriksson Ek and 12 Matt Boldy. The third line reads 13 Yakov Trenin, 22 Danila Yurov and 91 Vladimir Tarasenko. The fourth line lists 17 Marcus Foligno, 78 Nico Sturm and 18 Vinnie Hinostroza.

John Hynes on Milan and Olympic gold

Hynes served as an assistant coach for Team USA’s run to Olympic gold in Milan, an experience he says did not yield a medal for himself because Olympic medals were awarded only to the players. He described the environment as high-stakes work that sharpened focus, preparation and the handling of highs and lows, and he expects that growth to benefit the Wild. Hynes said the Olympic stint helped him learn and he believes it will make him a better coach; he added that the experience should similarly help players who joined the U. S. effort.

Player availability: Matt Boldy, Brock Faber and Quinn Hughes

Hynes returned to the Wild’s ice on Feb. 25 for the team’s final practice before traveling to Colorado, but Matt Boldy, Brock Faber and Quinn Hughes were absent from that session. All three had been part of Team USA’s postgame invitation to the White House after the Americans outlasted Canada 2-1 in overtime on Feb. 22 and attended the State of the Union address with President Donald Trump. The Wild scheduled those players to fly with the team to Colorado, and Hynes said the plan is for Boldy, Faber and Hughes to be available for the matchup against the Avalanche.

Wild staff in Italy: Worley, Green, Dr. Joel Boyd and Chris Kelleher

Support personnel from the Wild were on the ground with Team USA in Milan. Athletic trainers John Worley and Travis Green and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Joel Boyd accompanied the U. S. team, while assistant general manager Chris Kelleher served on the U. S. management staff. That management group was helmed by President of Hockey Operations Bill Guerin as its general manager, and Hynes noted seeing Guerin’s visible relief and pride during the tournament, saying Guerin had tears in his eyes on the bench and that he had done a great job leading the staff and players.

Standings: 78 points, gap to Colorado and games in hand

Heading into the Olympic break, the Wild sat tied for the second-most points in the NHL with 78, trailing only first-place Colorado by five points. The Avalanche used one of their three games in hand on Feb. 25, a development that changes the immediate calculus for Minnesota as the teams reconvene. That gap and the games-in-hand dynamic help explain why Hynes and his players framed the return as a crucial stretch: closing the five-point deficit and overtaking Colorado would lift Minnesota into the top slot the team voiced as an objective.

Alternate captain Marcus Foligno emphasized that ambition, saying it would be “awesome to catch them and surpass them” and noting the confidence within the roster after the break. He characterized the pause as a significant moment for a club that had often been cast in the role of underdog to a perceived Goliath, and reiterated that securing a playoff spot remains the team’s primary goal.

What makes this notable is the direct line Hynes draws between the Olympic environment and the regular season: the high-stakes preparation and in-game management he encountered in Milan are positioned as immediate inputs into how the Wild will approach the remainder of the schedule beginning Feb. 26 in Colorado. That cause—Olympic experience—has clear effects on coaching approach, player readiness and the organization’s staff deployment as Minnesota seeks to narrow a five-point gap and keep pace with the league leader.