The sheep are piling on the Avalanche after a 9-6 Game 1 circus, but high-scoring flukes don't predict series outcomes — they predict regression. Minnesota gets Eriksson Ek AND Brodin back *after* Game 2, but even shorthanded, the Wild already clawed back to 5-4 before the Avs pulled away, proving they can hang. The crowd is chasing last game's fireworks while ignoring that a desperate Wild team on the road with nothing to lose is a live dog at +1.5 pucks.

The Wild are without top-four defenseman Jonas Brodin, gutting a Minnesota blue line that already struggles to contain MacKinnon at altitude — a mismatch the line hasn't fully priced in at -1.5/+124. Colorado has home-ice advantage in what is a high-leverage playoff game, and their depth loss (Manson) is less impactful than Minnesota's defensive void. Getting the Avs at plus-money on the puck line is sharp value given the structural edge on the back end.