Alright, yesterday's post was negative...but the positivity is back! So here is why I think the Wild beat the Avs in the 1st round:

• We're younger. The big stars for Colorado are downright old. Sakic, Forsberg, Foote...they all have one foot on the retirement golf course. Marian Gaborik, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Brent Burns, Mikko Koivu - all of the Wild's main guys will have more legs if the series goes long.
• Marian Gaborik. Since getting the "C" at the beginning of March, Gabby has begun to step it up. He's taken on another dynamic as more than just a scorer. He has other responsibilities in being the captian, and it seems to be keeping his intensity in the game. Look for a big series from Gabby.
• Mikko Koivu. Since coming back from the broken leg on the slash by Vancouver's Mattias Ohlund, Mikko has played with a firey edge. That edge has made him a better player, and it is a an edge that will make him successful in the playoffs.
• Brian Rolston is due. He was nonexistant last year v. Anaheim so Rolston has something to prove. And if he wants a nice contract from whoever signs him next year, he needs to show he can produce in the playoffs.
• Wild penalty kill. The Wild were 4th in the NHL in the regular season on the kill, at 85%. The Avs powerplay was 29th, at 14%. If the Wild can stay out of the box and don't get worn out by taking too many dumb penalties, they should be able to keep continue this trend.
• Xtra grit. The toughness the Wild picked up this year in Aaron Voros, Todd Fedoruk, and Chris Simon joining Derek Boogard will help the Wild muscle up against a smaller Avalanche team, in much the same way Anaheim bullied the Wild last year.
• Xcel Energy Center. We will have crowds of 19,000 plus at each home game, and we have a better goal horn than in Colorado.
• Hunger for winning. The Wild were blown out v. Anaheim last year. The team is largely the same, so they should carry the bitterness of that loss with them for an extra edge.
• Kurtis Foster will be in attendance for an emotional lift (I assume...he showed up to practice today).

So, taking all this into consideration, I'm going with a Wild win in the series. I hope in 5, but it'll probably be in 7. At any rate, this is the most wonderful time of the year.

The 2nd episode of the Wild Blogoshere Podcast is now available for your enjoyment. We welcome in Paul from Cup Crazy's National Hockey League Blog for a preview of all the playoff matchups, and extensive analysis of Wild v. Avalanche.

To listen, click here. To subscribe to the RSS feed, go here. And to automatically add the subscription to iTunes, click here.

Let the playoff speculation begin! Colorado is upset that Jacques Lemaire says they cheat on defense and it will give us chances. Avalanche fans are upset because the Wild play "boring hockey." The Wild are down yet another defenseman, with Nick Schultz's flu bug turning into appendicitis. Man I love the playoffs. Every series has it's own bit of drama.

I've never been sold on the common premise that the Avs are a better matchup for the Wild than the Flames. While I agree that we haven't played well v. Calgary, we played them better the last couple games. Also, the whole "I think the better matchup is this team..." often goes the other way in sports. Here's some things that scare me 'bout the Avs:

• There's a little vibe in this town that we're just happy we're not playing Calgary, almost taking this series lightly. That never works out.
• The Avs have a star-studded lineup. Joe Sakic is a Wild killer and Mr. Clutch.  Paul Stastney, Ryan Smyth, Adam Foote, oh, and that Peter Forsberg guy.
• The Avs have a bunch of grizzled veterans, many of which are previously mentioned.
• With Schultz out for an unspecified amount of time, the Wild are waaay short on defense.
• In 2003, the Wild came back from a 3-1 deficit in the 1st round against the Avs. I'm worried about hockey karma in this one. Add to the karma factor that Colorado brought back the nucleus of that team. Oh, and Andrew Brunette, who scored the series winner in '03 (and sent Patrick Roy to a minor league coaching career, causing him to be mean-spirited and send his son into a hockey brawl) now plays for Colorado.
• The Wild spent alot of energy in winning the Northwest. If they lose game 1, and essentially lose home ice, they would lose all the momentum they fought for. Game 1 is pretty critical.
• Many times regular season success against a certain team turns into failure against them in the postseason.
• Alot of the muckity-mucks in the hockey world are picking the Avs in this series, including Darren Pang. Not everyone has bought in to what the Wild are selling yet.

Well, there's the negativity. Tomorrow comes the positivity - I'll touch on what I think the Wild have going for them in this series...