Mn Wild beat Avalanche 5-2 as Filip Gustavsson makes 44 saves and Matthew Boldy scores
mn wild defeated the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 on 02/26/2026 in Denver, a game defined by Filip Gustavsson’s 44-save performance and a Matthew Boldy goal that helped secure the win.
Gustavsson’s 44-save night turned personal late
Filip Gustavsson made 44 saves in the Thursday night victory and was described as the team’s backbone, but he couldn’t finish the game, leaving with about one minute remaining after throwing up in his crease and battling an illness that surfaced late in the game. Coach John Hynes called it “a real gutty performance, ” and Quinn Hughes said, “He’s a beast. ” Hynes added that Gustavsson wasn’t sick earlier in the day and that the illness mostly occurred in the third period.
Mn Wild come out of Olympic break with statement win
The win followed Minnesota’s return from the Olympic break; Matthew Boldy (Minnesota Wild) had a goal in the 5-2 result on 02/26/2026, and the box score included MIN@COL: Zuccarello scores goal against Mackenzie Blackwood and MIN@COL: Eriksson Ek scores PPG against Mackenzie Blackwood. Joel Eriksson Ek scored two goals, both on the power play, and Mats Zuccarello also scored for Minnesota.
Eriksson Ek finished the 5-on-4, Boldy added shorthanded and empty-net goals
The Islanders of concrete scoring moments: Eriksson Ek finished a sequence on the man advantage when his centering pass/shot went through the crease and in off the pad of Mackenzie Blackwood to make it 2-1, and Matt Boldy scored two empty-netters and had a shorthanded goal. The coverage file includes the line Matthew Boldy with a Shorthanded Goal vs. Colorado Avalanche and also notes Matt Boldy scored two empty-netters, one-shorthanded.
Power plays, a 5-on-3 sequence and timeouts
Colorado took six of the first seven penalties, giving Minnesota an edge on the power play early. That culminated in an extended 5-on-3 for the Wild with around five minutes left in the second period: Minnesota was initially supposed to have 1: 12 of a 5-on-3, but Brent Burns took a delay-of-game penalty four seconds into that sequence, turning it into 1: 54 of a two-man advantage. During the sequence, Hynes called a timeout partly to rest his top unit, which had been on for 48 seconds, and Minnesota generated several point-blank looks, including attempts from Hughes and Boldy.
Shots, runs and standings details
The Avalanche dominated stretches of play — taking nine of the first 10 shots and 11 of the first 13 in the third period — but Gustavsson kept Minnesota in the game with crucial saves. Minnesota’s victory extended a winning run: the Wild have now won six straight and are in a 9-1-1 stretch that includes games before the Olympic break. The Wild sit five points behind Colorado for first place in the Central Division while the Avalanche have two games in hand, and the two teams are scheduled to play again in Denver next weekend.
Players and coaches spoke to media before and after the game and practice
Several team figures spoke with media surrounding the game and practices. The file notes: Coach speaks with media following 5-2 win over the Avs; Quinn speaks with media following 5-2 win over the Avs; Bolds speaks with media following 5-2 win over the Avs; Ekker speaks with media following 5-2 win over the Avs. In advance of the match there were comments on the Olympic Gold Medal win: Coach speaks on coming out of the break after Olympic Gold Medal win; Quinn talks Olympic Gold Medal win ahead of tonight's match against the Avalanche; Fabes talks Olympic Gold Medal win ahead of tonight's match against the Avalanche; Bolds talks Olympic Gold Medal win ahead of tonight's match against the Avalanche. Practice-day media access included Coach chats with media after practice on Wednesday; Gus Bus chats with media after practice on Wednesday; Coach Jack Capuano speaks to media following practice at TRIA Rink; Ekky speaks to media following practice at TRIA Rink.
Olympic note and a truncated quote in the record
Gustavsson did not have the Olympic experience he had hoped for with Team Sweden: Jacob Markstrom took over the net for the quarterfinal game against the U. S. after Gustavsson started two games. Joel Eriksson Ek said, “He made some saves that kept us calm and we could start building. ” Boldy also commented about growth and staying together as a team, and a partial line in the provided text ends with “made them tir” — unclear in the provided context.
The teams meet again in Denver next weekend; that rematch is the next confirmed scheduling detail in the files.
