The Colorado Rapids' surprising run to their first MLS Cup title last year included narrowly eliminating the Columbus Crew.
Another run will require beating the Crew again, and playing host at a frigid Dick's Sporting Goods Park likely will be a factor.
The Rapids begin their quest to retain the MLS Cup as they face the sputtering Crew in a single-elimination wild-card playoff meeting Thursday night.
Colorado (12-9-13) won the MLS Cup in 2010, beating Columbus 5-4 on penalties in the opening round to begin that unlikely run for a team that went 12-8-10 during the regular season. The Rapids also appeared to be headed for elimination against the Crew (13-13-8) before Conor Casey scored with six minutes to go in the second leg to tie the series at 3 and send it to overtime and penalty kicks.
While a shootout may determine who advances this time, the new one-game wild-card round requires only a meeting in Colorado after the Rapids finished with 49 points to the Crew's 47.
"It's a one-off," Rapids defender Drew Moor said. "The winner moves on, loser goes home. Anything can happen in games like that. ... We need to take advantage of our home field."
Colorado enters the postseason unbeaten in nine home games (4-0-5), including a 2-0 win over the Crew on Aug. 5 to beat them for a third consecutive meeting there - all shutouts.
The Rapids capped the regular season with a 2-1 victory at Vancouver on Saturday to earn home-field advantage for the wild-card match. That means playing at altitude in Commerce City, where the Wednesday night low was expected to be 16 degrees after six inches of snow was dumped in the metropolitan Denver area.
"No one likes to play us here," defender Kosuke Kimura told the league's official website. "We've just got to take advantage of that and just do it, stay positive and keep going."
Pablo Mastroeni is hoping to be available after he sat out the regular-season finale with a concussion sustained in a scoreless draw with Salt Lake on Oct. 14. He will undergo a series of tests, and remains in doubt.
Columbus went 2-6-1 down the stretch after concluding the regular season with a 3-2 loss at Chicago on Saturday, its fifth loss in six road games.
Not having the security of returning home is weighing on the Crew.
"Last year, we went (to Colorado) knowing we have a home game after," captain Chad Marshall told the team's official website. "You kind of sit back and defend and take the pressure and hope to get out of there with a tie or maybe sneak a win.
"This game we have to be all out. We have to go for the win. There's no sitting back. We have to be ready from the start."
Andres Mendoza will likely be instrumental in helping the Crew advance. The forward had a team-leading 13 goals during the regular season, with 12 coming in games that Columbus managed at least a tie.
He scored twice in a 4-1 win over the Rapids on June 26, but was limited to one shot on goal at Colorado in August.
The winner of this match will host Sporting KC in the first leg of a two-legged conference semifinal series that begins Sunday.
