State Your Case: Who will win Central Division title?

With less than three weeks to go in the 2022-23 NHL regular season, three of the four division races are still up for grabs. The tightest race is in the Central Division, where the Minnesota Wild lead the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars by one point.

Making that race even juicier is the fact the Wild (43-22-9) and Avalanche (44-23-6) face off against each other at Ball Arena in Denver on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; TNT; SN360, TVAS, SN NOW).
That game could go a long way in determining who wins the division and claims home-ice advantage for at least the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
But who will emerge as the champion?
That's the question posed to NHL.com Editor-in-Chief Bill Price and staff writer Jon Lane in the latest version of State Your Case:
Price: The Wild have been on incredible run -- they are an NHL-best 15-1-4 since Feb. 17 -- which is even more outstanding when you consider they have done it without their top player, forward Kirill Kaprizov, who hasn't played since March 8 because of a lower-body injury; there is no indication as to when he will return. If it were any other team they were trying to fend off, I would think they could do it, but the Avalanche are not any other team. They are the defending Stanley Cup champions and are on their own hot streak; They are 9-1-0 since March 11 and are finally looking like the team that won the Cup last season. Worse news yet for Minnesota and Dallas is that Colorado's top three players are also on fire. In the past 10 games, center Nathan MacKinnon has 18 points (five goals, 13 assists), defenseman Cale Makar 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) and forward Mikko Rantanen 14 points (six goals, eight assists). The Avalanche are a freight train gaining momentum, one that won't stop until they win the Central Division.
Lane: Let's talk about momentum and freight trains. The Wild have momentum, mojo and are moving like a tremendous machine to finish off the regular season. In addition to their incredible run since Feb. 17, they are 6-1-2 since Kaprizov was injured. Everyone has stepped up in the absence of Minnesota's 39-goal scorer, like forward Marcus Johansson and center Joel Eriksson Ek combining for 19 points (three goals, 16 points) and forward Matt Boldy making a late run for Hart Trophy consideration as the most valuable player in the NHL. Through his first 65 games, Boldy had 17 goals, a 21-goal pace. In his past nine games, he has 15 points (11 goals, four assists) and is two goals shy of 30 in his second NHL season. There's goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, the 38-year-old who is 8-0-1 with a 2.19 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in his past nine starts. And there's goalie Filip Gustavsson being named the NHL Third Star for the week ending March 26, when he had an 0.96 GAA and .972 save percentage, and made an NHL career-high 47 saves in a 2-1 overtime win at the New Jersey Devils on March 21. The Wild are clicking at the right time, and the first step will be holding off the champs and clinching the division.

Price: Jon, I'm glad you brought up Fleury, because I can counter with Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev, who has come into his own as a No. 1 goalie this season. Georgiev, who played in the shadow of Igor Shesterkin for the New York Rangers before being traded to the Avalanche this offseason, is 34-15-5 with a 2.54 GAA, .919 save percentage and five shutouts this season, but more importantly is 8-2-0 with a 1.98 GAA and .921 save percentage in his past 10 games. But let's not look back, let's look ahead. Colorado has a game in hand on Minnesota and Dallas. The Avalanche have nine games left, including four straight on the road (two at the San Jose Sharks, one each at the Stars and Anaheim Ducks; the Stars and Ducks have been eliminated from the playoff contention). Colorado also hosts Dallas on Saturday, which could be another huge game in the Central race. Meanwhile, the Wild have a home-and-home set with the Vegas Golden Knights, who are fighting for first in the Pacific Division, and visit the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are fighting for their playoff lives. The Stars have games against the Avalanche, Golden Knights and an intriguing back to back against the St. Louis Blues to end the regular season. I love what Dallas has done under coach Peter DeBoer and what Minnesota has done, and again, if this were any other team besides the Avalanche giving chase, I would say the Wild or Stars could win the Central. But Colorado is not only battle tested, it's hitting its stride at the right time, a stride that will result in a division title.
Lane: Bill, props for bringing up Georgiev, who like Gustavsson is someone not enough pundits are talking about. And kudos for making the point the Avalanche are proving resilient and anything but content with being reigning champions. Gustavsson is showing resilience through persistence; this is the 24-year-old's third NHL team since he was selected by the Penguins in the second round (No. 55) of the 2016 NHL Draft. Pittsburgh traded him to the Ottawa Senators before he played an NHL game, and the Senators sent him to the Wild for goalie Cam Talbot on July 12, 2022. Gustavsson and Fleury will help Minnesota navigate its final eight games. After the home and home with the Golden Knights, they visit the Penguins, fighting for a playoff berth but 4-5-1 in their past 10. Their final four are against three teams not in playoff position (Blues, Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators) and the contending-but-inconsistent Winnipeg Jets. I'll take the strong goalie tandem (one half being a three-time Stanley Cup winner) and a "Boldy but goodie" to get the Wild over the top, especially if Kaprizov is healthy enough to return before the playoffs.