You thought the Minnesota Wild-Dallas Stars series was a heavyweight bout between Western Conference titans?Buckle up. The upcoming second-round matchup between the Wild and the Colorado Avalanche might even top it.The NHL playoff format, fair or not, has given us back-to-back conference final-worthy showdowns. And the Wild know what they’re getting into here against the Presidents’ Trophy winners.“They were the best team in the league,” Minnesota’s Quinn Hughes said of the Avalanche. “It’s going to be a really hard series.”“You go through second place, now you’ve got to go through first place,” Wild winger Marcus Foligno said. “Another big battle, and we’re mentally ready for it.”There’s plenty of starpower here, from Hughes, Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov for the Wild to Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Martin Nečas for the Avs. Colorado has a core that’s been there, done that, having won the Stanley Cup in 2022, while this is Minnesota’s first foray into the second round in a decade.How does it all break down? What should we expect? Here’s a primer.What’s one matchup you’re looking forward to?Baugh: I’ll steal an obvious one. Watching Makar and Hughes go head-to-head should be exhilarating. Each had seasons worthy of Norris consideration, and
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