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.

Without Kirill Kaprizov, Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota played a smart, poised and gutsy game, pulling away in the third for a 3-1 victory at Ball Arena.

The Minnesota Wild feel a sense of urgency despite having nearly half a season left to play. After losing three in a row and four of their last five games, the Wild will look to turn things around on Monday afternoon against the host Colorado Avalanche in Denver.

MacKinnon is the most likely Avalanche player to take advantage of a Wild defense that is bleeding shots. Not only is he the best shot-generator on the team, but the Wild have allowed the second-most shots to centers in the NHL over the past few weeks.

The Wild held two separate leads before falling to Connor McDavid and the Oilers, losing Marcus Johansson along the way.

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.

Minnesota was without its top three defensemen against high-flying Colorado, and Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin were sorely missed.

The Wild were still without Kirill Kaprizov, Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon ... with a goal by Mikko Rantanen to take a 3-1 lead. Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin assisted him.

Yakov Trenin scored against his former team early in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Monday.

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.

The Colorado Avalanche (28-18-1) continue their homestand against the Minnesota Wild (27-15-4) in another matinee matchup at Ball Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 1:08 p.m. MT. READ MORE: How Will Jared Bednar Spend His Time During 4 Nations?

Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey takes a look at the games that are scheduled and offers insight and analysis to help predict who will be victorious in head-to-head matchups.