As long as you’re winning other matchups, there’s nothing wrong with a line breaking even throughout the course of a series. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar would prefer a little more, though.

“I like to win every matchup, ideally,” Bednar said on Saturday. “But if we’re not winning them all, break-even, we’ll take that. As long as we’re not losing any.”

Colorado’s second line, which consists of Brock Nelson, Valeri Nichushkin, and, in the first round, two different wingers, broke even against the Los Angeles Kings. No goals for, no goals against. They faced tough matchups in tough situations, starting most of their shifts in the defensive zone, so breaking even worked out for the Avalanche.

In Game 1 Sunday at Ball Arena against a Wild team that has more of an offensive punch than the Kings, they’ll need some offense out of that group.

And they know it.

“Try to generate more possession (and) chances, for sure,” Nelson said Saturday. “I don’t think we did a great job of it by any means, so more to be had. Defensively, I think sticking with it. Yeah, we gave up some chances against a line that’s pretty dangerous, but kind of a wash, so things you can clean up on both sides.”

When the puck drops at 7 p.m., Nelson and Nichushkin may have a different winger at left wing than they did against the Kings.

Parker Kelly and Ross Colton split time with that duo in the first round, but if practice this week is any indication, it will be Gabriel Landeskog who will get a look with Nelson and Nichushkin to start this upcoming series. Landeskog was tied with Nathan MacKinnon as the leading scorer for the Avalanche against the Kings with four points and spent time on multiple lines during that series.

If he’s with Nelson and Nichushkin, it will give them a different look, but not one they’re unfamiliar with. That trio spent nearly 170 minutes together at even strength during the regular season, outscoring the opposition 9-6 and carrying a 63.5% expected goals-for percentage. That’s a rather large sample size, and when together, a rather large line.

They know what they need to do to have success.

“Offensively, try to support one another a little bit more, generate a little bit more possession down in the (offensive) zone,” Nelson said. “I don’t think we had too much possession time down there to give ourselves multiple looks. Maybe a little bit more low-to-high, a couple of (defensemen) shots, and play off rebounds to generate some more chances.”

Notable

• Josh Manson made it through the entire practice in a full-contact jersey for the Avalanche, but his status for Game 1 is up in the air. Bednar said they’ll talk to him Sunday and see how he presents before making any lineup decisions. Manson missed Game 4 against the Kings with an upper-body injury.
• Joel Kiviranta did not skate since the team returned from Los Angeles and is considered day to day.
• Some big injury news from the Wild side, as one of their top defensive defensemen, Jonas Brodin, did not travel to Denver, making it unlikely he’ll appear in either of the first two games. There also seems to be some uncertainty regarding the status of first-line center Joel Eriksson Ek. The 6-foot-3 center went hard into the boards with his right leg toward the end of Game 6 against the Stars. He did return, but left for several minutes. He’s currently listed as questionable for Game 1.