NHL Games on TV Today – Tuesday, May 5, 2026 (ET)
Just one game on the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs schedule tonight, but it follows the wildest night of the postseason. The Minnesota Wild return to Ball Arena for Game 2 against the Colorado Avalanche, 48 hours after the two teams combined for 15 goals in a Game 1 that nobody saw coming.
Coverage is on ESPN in the United States, with Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports carrying it in Canada.
Tuesday’s NHL Schedule at a Glance
| Time (ET) | Matchup | Series Status | US TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 PM | Minnesota Wild at Colorado Avalanche (Game 2) | Colorado leads 1-0 | ESPN |
🏒 Game of the Day: Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche (Game 2)
8:00 PM ET | ESPN (US) · Sportsnet / CBC / TVA Sports (Canada)
Two of the league’s stingiest defensive teams opened this series with a 9-6 track meet. Colorado won it, but only after blowing a three-goal lead, and the final line was historically strange: five goals in each period, and just the 10th playoff game ever to feature at least 15 combined goals – only the second since 1994. Cale Makar summed it up bluntly afterward, calling it a weird, one-off night.
Makar was the difference. He left early in the first period after a heavy hit from Marcus Foligno along the end boards, returned for the second, and then scored twice in the third, including the goal that made it 8-6 with under three minutes left. Nathan MacKinnon sealed it into the empty net, and Nazem Kadri had earlier put Colorado ahead 7-5 on a breakaway.
Minnesota has real reasons for encouragement despite the loss. The Wild scored on four of eight high-danger chances – Ryan Hartman, Vladimir Tarasenko, Foligno and Mats Zuccarello all converted – against a goaltender in Scott Wedgewood who had led all playoff netminders in high-danger save percentage before Sunday. They did it while missing second-line center Joel Eriksson Ek and defenseman Jonas Brodin, both expected to be out for at least the first two games of the series. Colorado is also without Josh Manson and Joel Kiviranta.
Expect a very different game. John Hynes will want the tight, structured hockey that beat Dallas, and rookie goaltender Jesper Wallstedt needs a bounce-back. On the other side, the Makar-versus-Quinn Hughes matchup remains the most enjoyable individual duel left in the bracket.
Prediction: Regression arrives – a low-scoring, tight-checking Game 2, and Colorado holds serve at home.
What’s Next This Week
The schedule fills back up quickly. On Wednesday, the Eastern Conference’s final second-round series opens with Montreal visiting Buffalo at 7:00 PM ET, followed by Game 2 between Anaheim and Vegas at 9:30 PM ET. Carolina and Philadelphia resume with Game 3 in Philadelphia on Thursday, and this series shifts to Minnesota for Game 3 on Saturday.
One game, one storyline: can either team actually defend? Game 1 was an outlier by almost every measure, and Tuesday should tell us what this series really looks like.
