NHL Games on TV Today – Wednesday, May 13, 2026 (ET)
One game on the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs schedule tonight, and a Western Conference Final berth is on the line. The Minnesota Wild travel to Ball Arena facing elimination, with the Colorado Avalanche one win from their first conference final appearance since their Stanley Cup year.
Coverage is on TNT, truTV and HBO Max in the United States, with Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports carrying it in Canada.
Wednesday’s NHL Schedule at a Glance
| Time (ET) | Matchup | Series Status | US TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 PM | Minnesota Wild at Colorado Avalanche (Game 5) | Colorado leads 3-1 | TNT / truTV / HBO Max |
🏒 Game of the Day: Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche (Game 5)
8:00 PM ET | TNT / truTV / HBO Max (US) · Sportsnet / CBC / TVA Sports (Canada)
Jared Bednar responded to his team’s first loss of the postseason by changing almost everything – goaltender, forward lines, defense pairings – and it worked. Colorado won Game 4 by a 5-2 score in St. Paul, outshooting Minnesota 34-21 and taking a commanding 3-1 series lead.
The decisive moments came in the third period from two unlikely sources. Parker Kelly scored the first playoff goal of his career at 11:32, one-timing a Jack Drury feed after Jake Middleton turned the puck over in his own zone, and Ross Colton followed with his own first goal of the spring off a slick cross-slot pass from Nicolas Roy. Colton and Kelly became the 15th and 16th different Avalanche players to score in just eight postseason games – a staggering illustration of how deep this roster runs.
Mackenzie Blackwood also made 19 saves in his first start of the playoffs after relieving Scott Wedgewood in Game 3. Colorado did all of this while losing Sam Malinski and Artturi Lehkonen to late scratches less than half an hour before puck drop.
The odds are now heavily stacked. Teams taking a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven have gone on to win the series 90 percent of the time. Minnesota, chasing its first conference final appearance since 2003, still has Kirill Kaprizov, Quinn Hughes and a goaltender in Jesper Wallstedt who stole Game 3 outright – but the Wild have to win three in a row against the league’s best regular-season team, starting in Denver.
Prediction: Colorado finishes it at home – Avalanche punch their ticket to the Western Conference Final.
What’s Next
The schedule picks back up on Thursday with two games: Montreal at Buffalo in Game 5 of the Eastern series, and Vegas at Anaheim in Game 6 out west. Carolina is already through to the Eastern Conference Final after sweeping Philadelphia and has been waiting since Saturday.
If Colorado closes tonight, the Avalanche become the first team into the Western Conference Final and get a long rest while Vegas and Anaheim keep swinging. If Minnesota survives, this series heads back to St. Paul with all the pressure on the favorite.
