Boy, are the Avalanche glad Cale Makar returned.

Colorado’s top defenseman missed the majority of the first period with a mystery injury after taking a hit from Wild forward Marcus Foligno early. It’s a good thing he came back, because Makar’s two third-period goals were essential in helping the Avalanche win Game 1 9-6.

Makar was coy after the game about what caused him to leave for most of the first, not giving too much information out about what ailed him.

“I was just trying to get back and feel good,” Makar said. “It’s not fun when you kind of tweak something, but again, it happens. You got to be ready for it. Had to check a couple things out, make sure it was good to go, and yeah, felt good.”

To say this first game was the opposite of what the Avalanche experienced in the first round would be an understatement. The Avalanche came out flying with the Wild giving them a ton of room through the neutral zone, and the home team took advantage. Sam Malinski, Jack Drury and Artturi Lehkonen scored in a 2:01 span in the first period, giving the Avalanche a 3-0 lead.

A lead that evaporated relatively quickly.

Minnesota scored two goals late in the first, capitalizing on Colorado mistakes in the defensive zone. Unfortunately for the home team, that wasn’t where the mistakes would end.

An early Nick Blankenburg goal in the second period restored a two-goal lead for Colorado, but the defensive pair of Blankenburg and Brent Burns struggled in their own end. Those two were on the ice for a pair of Wild goals soon after that allowed Minnesota to tie the game, and a short-handed disaster from Colorado’s top power-play unit allowed the Wild to take a brief lead late in the second.

Emphasis on “brief.”

Devon Toews scored on a point shot with under two minutes remaining in the second period, tying the game at 5 and setting up for one team to just need to win one period to take the game.

A veteran team like Colorado knew what needed to be done.

“I don’t think much needs to be said (after the second),” Makar said after the game. “There was stuff that was said and I think (Bednar) had a good chat in terms of just where we wanted to get our game back to after that second period, but I think we’re a mature team and at the point where we can handle that, either as individuals, or guys leadership-wise can step up and talk and I feel like we did a really good job of that.”

That’s when Makar made his hero’s entrance, making sure the Wild exited the night with a loss.

A little over three minutes into the third, Gabriel Landeskog cleanly won a faceoff back to Nathan MacKinnon, who found Makar all alone at the right circle. That’s never a good idea for the opposing team, and Makar wired a shot over Wallstedt’s blocker to give the Avalanche the crucial first goal of the third period. A little over two minutes later, Nazem Kadri looked like he had been caught on a breakaway, but his decision to let a shot go early might have caught Wallstedt off guard, as the veteran gave the Avalanche a 7-5 lead.

The Wild would score a fluky goal to make it 7-6 before Makar put an end to things, dancing at the blue line and beating Wallstedt again to restore the two-goal lead. MacKinnon added an empty-net goal to ensure the Avalanche would walk away with a 9-6 victory. The 9 goals set a franchise single-game playoff record, breaking the previous mark of 8.

Both coaches may elect to burn the tape from this game as they prepare for Tuesday night’s Game 2.

“I don’t know how you do (script that game),” Bednar said. “I can’t explain it.”

Avalanche 9, Wild 6

What happened: Last goal wins, and the Avalanche got four of the last five.

What went right: For as bad as the Avalanche were defensively, their penalty kill locked in when they needed to. The Wild had three power plays and failed to score on any of them, and on their first two opportunities, they barely generated shot attempts.

What went wrong: Colorado will need better performances from its third pair (combined -5) and third line (combined -7). Blankenburg chipped in with a goal, but the Avalanche looked like they could use Josh Manson back against some of Minnesota’s bigger forwards.

Avalanche goal scorers: Malinski (1), Lehkonen (3), Drury (1), Blankenburg (1), Kadri (1), Toews (2), Makar (3,4), MacKinnon (3)

Wild goal scorers: Johansson (2), Hartman (2), Tarasenko (2), Hughes (3), Foligno (2), Zuccarello (2)

Between the pipes: Wedgewood didn’t get much help, finishing with 30 saves on 36 shots.

What’s next: Game 2 between the teams will take place Tuesday at 6 p.m.