The Colorado Avalanche were the biggest surprise of the NHLs regular season. Chicago Cubs Store . The Central Division champions now hope to carry their shocking success into the playoffs, as the Avalanche welcome the Minnesota Wild to Pepsi Center for Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals. Watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt. Colorado not only made the playoffs for the first time since 2010, the club also earned its first division title since 2002-03. Winning the Central was no small feat, as the Avs finished ahead of an excellent St. Louis Blues team and also the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Avs figured to be a team on the upswing after landing talented center Nathan MacKinnon with the top overall pick of the 2013 draft and hiring former goaltender great Patrick Roy as their head coach. But an outstanding season by netminder Semyon Varlamov expedited the process and his Vezina Trophy-worthy season -- as well as a late collapse by the Blues -- helped the Avs take the division, setting up this first-round matchup against the Wild, who claimed the first of the Wests two wild card spots. Varlamov led the NHL with 41 victories, breaking Roys single-season franchise mark set in 2000-01. He also surpassed his head coach for the most home victories by an Avalanche goaltender in a season with 24. All will be for naught though if Varlamovs postseason debut with Colorado goes sour. He has not played a playoff game since 2010 with the Washington Capitals and in 19 total games of postseason experience, the Russian is 10-9 with a 2.49 goals against average and .915 save percentage. There may be some additional pressure on Varlamov and the defense as forward Matt Duchene may miss the entire series with a bruised knee suffered on March 29. Duchene still led the Avs with 47 assists and 70 points, but Colorado did manage to go 5-1-2 down the stretch without him. The Avalanche snapped a three-year playoff drought by matching a franchise record with 52 victories and setting another mark with 26 road wins. Their 112 points were good for second-most in the clubs single-season history. Minnesota is in the playoffs for the second straight season, making the club 2-for-2 in postseason appearances since it broke the bank to sign both forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter in the summer of 2012. The Wild snapped a four-year postseason drought by earning the eighth seed a season ago, only to fall in five games to the Chicago Blackhawks. This season, Minnesota racked up impressive totals of 43 wins and 98 points -- a 17-point improvement from the full 2011-12 campaign. The usual suspects came through as Jason Pominville, Parise, Mikko Koivu and Suter were Minnesotas top four scorers. The Wild had four goaltenders make at least 10 starts this season, but Ilya Bryzgalov is the No. 1 option heading into the playoffs. Bryzgalov was acquired from Edmonton at the trade deadline and the Russian veteran went 7-1-3 with a 2.12 goals against average and .911 save percentage in 12 games with Minnesota. Bryzgalov has appeared in 38 postseason games, though his numbers arent great. He is 17-19 with a 2.81 GAA and .908 save percentage. The Avalanche got a point in all five of their meetings with the Wild this season, going 4-0-1. Varlamov was 3-0-1 with a 2.16 GAA in four games, while Bryzgalov did not face the Avalanche since joining the Wild. The Russian has, however, won all four of his previous playoff games against them, posting a 0.94 GAA and two shutouts while with the Anaheim Ducks back in 2006. This is the third all-time playoff meeting between the clubs. The Wild won a 2003 conference quarterfinals matchup in seven games, while the Avalanche knocked off Minnesota in six games during the same round in 2008. Colorado also will host Game 2 of this best-of-seven series on Saturday. The Avs were 26-11-4 on home ice in 2013-14, while Minnesota was just 17-17-7 on the road. Danny Hultzen Cubs Jersey . He was 90. The team announced Monday that Adams had died, saying he "passed away peacefully from natural causes." The son of a prominent oil executive, Adams built his own energy fortune and founded the Houston Oilers. Rowan Wick Cubs Jersey . The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the league hasnt announced the award. Crawford was the Clippers third-leading scorer and the NBAs top-scoring reserve with 18. https://www.cheapcubs.com/1150t-nicholas-castellanos-jersey-cubs.html . As future stars prepare to make the big leap to the professional ranks, TSNs Draft Week delivers wall-to-wall coverage of both the NHL and NBA Entry Drafts, highlighted by exclusive live coverage of both events.The World Junior Hockey Championship is back in Canada after two years overseas and the home team has come home hoping to end its medal drought. Canada’s failure to earn a medal over the past two years marks the first time since the start of the Program of Excellence in 1982 that the nation has returned empty-handed from back-to-back tournaments. Canada is also riding its second-longest gold medal drought, with 2015 marking the sixth tournament since the team last won gold. With the tournament back on Canadian ice – here’s a look at how the team has done in its own barn. This year marks the 11th time Canada has hosted since the tournament officially began in 1977. The first official tournament held in Canada was in Montreal in 1978. Team Canada earned a bronze medal behind a Soviet team led by Sergei Makarov and Vyacheslav Fetisov. But it was a standout performance that marked that tournament as special, with Wayne Gretzky making his lone appearance at the age of 16. Canada didn’t host again until 1986 when Hamilton welcomed the World Juniors back after a victorious 1985 tournament in Finland. Once again, the Soviets were dominant with Valeri Kamensky leading the way. A 14-point performance from Shayne Corson helped lead Canada to silver, improving upon its previous turn as hosts. In 1991, Canada got its first taste of home-ice glory in one of the tournaments that helped propel the World Juniors to its holiday classic status. For the second time on home ice, another phenom took over the tournament as 17-year-old Eric Lindros racked up 17 points and earned a tournament All-Star nod. That said, it wasn’t Lindros’ name that was synonymous with the Saskatoon tournament, but Newfoundland’s John Slaney. Canada and the Soviets were tied late in the tournament’s final game, with the Soviets knowing that a draw would be enough to earn them a gold medal under the round-robin format. In the final minute, Slaney’s slapper from inside the blue line found the back of the net and made Canada the first nation to ever win gold on home ice. The feat was repeated in 1995 with the NHL lockout allowing Canada to ice a truly dominant team in Red Deer, Alberta. The trio of Jason Allison, Marty Murray and Eric Daze combined for 40 points on a team that also featured future NHL stars Wade Redden, Ryan Smyth, Bryan McCabe, Jeff O’Neill and Ed Jovanovski. Heartbreak came at the end of the decade as Canada had to watch Russia win gold in 1999 and 2003. With the format changed to a gold medal game to decide the champion, the Russians edged Canada first with an overtime goal by Artem Chubarov in Winnipeg and with a two-goal third period comeback in Halifax. The tides turned back Canada’s way once more in the latter half of the 2000s. Team Canada won two gold medals at home within a four-year span as part of its second five-year dynasty in tournament history. The 2006 team was backstopped by JJustin Pogge’s record three shutouts and a complete defensive effort that saw Canada allow just six goals over as many games. Chicago Cubs Shirts. The 2009 tournament is another that lives on in Canadian World Junior lore. Trailing Russia late in their semifinal, Jordan Eberle scored one of the most iconic World Junior goals ever, tying the game with just five seconds left on the clock. The contest went to a shootout with - who else - Eberle providing the eventual game-winner with a beautiful backhand move. Canada handily beat Sweden in the gold medal game to earn its fifth straight title. The pendulum swung back to heartbreak in the tournaments Canada has hosted since. The year after Eberle thrilled Ottawa, it was American defenceman John Carlson who stunned fans in the gold medal game in Saskatoon. After yet another late-game thriller from Eberle to tie the game at five, an overtime rebound off an Alex Pietrangelo effort was taken the other way by the Americans with Carlson providing the dagger on a three-on-one. Canada returned home - specifically to host cities Calgary and Edmonton - looking for redemption in 2012. Down 5-1 in the second period of their semifinal against Russia, Canada stormed back to cut the deficit to just one goal late in the third period. The clock ran out, though and Canada eventually settled for bronze with a win over Finland. So, where does it leave Canada’s hopes for 2015 in Montreal and Toronto? To date, Canada has never failed to medal at home, so history favours an end to the medal drought. Also, given past performances of phenoms like Gretzky and Lindros at home, the table may well be set for a dominant showing from potential first-overall NHL draft pick Connor McDavid. Canada’s tournament totals are also better at home than overseas. Since the start of the Program of Excellence in 1982, Canada is 46-7-2 (.855 winning percentage) at home tournaments, earning four golds, four silvers and two bronze medals. By comparison, the nation is 119-33-17 (.754) abroad. One final trend to consider, quirky though it may be, is the calendar. Canada has won gold in every official tournament where the year has ended in “5”: 1985 in Finland, 1995 in Red Deer and 2005 in Grand Forks. Fans looking for more encouragement can also look to Grand Forks in 2005 – featuring the likes of Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, Jeff Carter and Dion Phaneuf – as the tournament that ended Canada’s longest gold medal drought in the official era, after seven straight failed attempts. Canada’s World Junior record at home (W-L-T): 1978 (Montreal): 4-2-0, bronze 1986 (Hamilton): 5-2-0, silver 1991 (Saskatoon): 5-1-1, gold 1995 (Red Deer): 7-0-0, gold 1999 (Winnipeg): 4-2-1, silver 2003 (Halifax): 5-1-0, silver 2006 (Vancouver): 6-0-0, gold 2009 (Ottawa): 6-0-0, gold 2010 (Regina/Saskatoon): 5-1, silver 2012 (Calgary/Edmonton): 5-1, bronze ' ' '