brent burns is back in Minnesota with the Colorado Avalanche up 2-0 in the Western Conference Second Round. The 41-year-old defenseman is in his 22nd NHL season and still chasing his first Stanley Cup title. Game 3 gives him a chance to do it against the team that drafted him.
Burns and the Wild
Burns said the matchup does not change how he approaches the series. “It doesn’t really matter,” he said when asked whether beating Minnesota would mean more, adding, “I think it’s always a little weird to go to any of those places (he previously played), but it doesn’t mean more or less.”
He doubled down on that view. “I don’t think it can mean more,” Burns said. “It wouldn’t matter if I was anywhere.” For him, the immediate task is simple: “At this stage, it’s just about getting to the next step.”
That step comes against the franchise that selected him in the first round, 20th overall, of the 2003 NHL Draft. Burns spent seven seasons with Minnesota through 2010-11, beginning his career as a forward before moving to defense, and this is the first time in this playoff run that he has faced the Wild with the Avalanche carrying a series cushion.
Burns in a 22nd season
The series arrives during a rare stretch of durability. Burns has 1,007 consecutive regular-season games, second in NHL history behind Phil Kessel’s 1,064, and he has piled up 945 career points in 1,579 regular-season games with Minnesota, San Jose, Carolina and Colorado.
His postseason record is thinner. Burns has 81 points in 141 Stanley Cup Playoff games, reached the Final once with San Jose in 2015-16, and lost that series to Pittsburgh in six games. This year, he has one assist in six playoff games while averaging 18:05 of ice time per night.
Nick Schultz on Burns
Former teammate Nick Schultz said Burns was easy to have around in Minnesota and brought a restless energy to the room. “Guys loved being around him. He always comes to the rink in a good mood, he’s such a happy-go-lucky guy and those are the people you want to be around,” Schultz said.
Schultz also pointed to the way Burns kept adding to his game and personality over the years. “He’s kind of all in on everything,” Schultz said. For Colorado, that means a veteran defenseman with 35 points in 82 regular-season games this season is still part of a team that can close out the round while he skates against the club that first made him an NHL player.
