The Associated Press

DENVER — Two of the NHL’s best defenses and a pair of the game’s ironfisted goaltenders are squaring off in Round 2, promising a paucity of pucks flashing the red light in the Minnesota-Colorado series, right?

Not in Game 1.

A whopping 14 players scored Sunday night, Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood gave up a half-dozen goals — one more than he allowed in his team’s sweep of the Los Angeles Kings in Round 1 — and yet the Avalanche prevailed 9-6 after Jesper Wallstedt surrendered a career-high eight goals before an empty-netter completed the madness.

“It was a weird one,” said Avalanche star Cale Makar, the only player to score multiple goals in the opener of a series that resumes Tuesday night at Ball Arena with both teams pledging to tighten up their defense.

“Weird game for sure,” Wild defenseman Jake Middleton concurred.…