Zach Parise scored one of Minnesota’s four goals in the second period and assisted on two others, helping the Wild overwhelm the Colorado Avalanche 5-0 in the season opener Thursday night.
Jason Pominville scored in the first period on one of Mikael Granlund’s two assists and helped set up a goal by Jared Spurgeon in the second. Nino Niederreiter and Ryan Suter scored, too, prompting chants of “Sieve! Sieve! Sieve!” from the fired-up overflow crowd. Semyon Varlamov, who gave up five goals on 38 shots, was replaced by Reto Berra for the third period.
The Wild finished with 48 shots on goal, setting a team record for the 14-year-old franchise. They had 47 in a loss at Colorado on Dec. 21, 2002.
