Familiar faces made for a strange night at Ball Arena, but the Colorado Avalanche still ended up on the wrong side of a 3-2 overtime decision against the Nashville Predators.
Ryan O’Reilly, Alex Kerfoot, Jack Drury, Ross Colton and Justus Annunen all returned as former Avs in Nashville sweaters, and the visitors got the last laugh after Colorado erased a one-goal deficit twice before a post and a costly penalty swung overtime the other way.
Ross Colton opened the scoring at 4:01 of the first period, finishing a play he refused to let die. Nashville’s early lead didn’t last long, though.
At 9:11, Jaden Schwartz tied it 1-1 after Brock Nelson’s forechecking pressure forced a turnover that ended up on Martin Necas’ stick. As Necas moved off the goal line, he slipped the puck to Schwartz, who was driving the net and beat Justus Annunen.
The Predators answered again before the period was over. Vitali Pinchuk scored his first career NHL goal at 14:34 after Reid Schaefer stripped Brock Nelson and fed him in a dangerous spot, sending Nashville into the first intermission with a 2-1 edge.
Colorado pulled even in the second when Parker Kelly scored at 5:08. Logan O’Connor started the sequence with a smart chip play along the boards, pushing the puck into the middle and out of the defensive zone before Kelly finished the break.
From there, the game tightened up. The third period turned into a back-and-forth stretch with chances at both ends, and both Justus Annunen and Mackenzie Blackwood came through while their teams were shorthanded. Neither side broke through, and overtime was needed.
The extra period belonged to Colorado early. The Avalanche piled up chances, including a clean look for Devon Toews after Nathan MacKinnon sent him in alone, but Toews hit the post. Not long after, Toews went to the box for holding Steven Stamkos, and that was the opening Nashville needed.
Stamkos buried the winner on the power play, tying Luc Robitaille for the fifth-most power-play goals in NHL history and sealing the 3-2 overtime victory for the Predators.
The game also showed a Colorado team that looked sharper after Jared Bednar’s blunt message following the 7-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Avalanche spent plenty of time killing penalties, and Nashville has been dangerous with the man advantage this season, but Colorado’s effort on the PK was there even when usual penalty-kill pieces like Brent Burns were in the box.
Blackwood stood out with a huge stop in the first period and another that could have changed the game midway through the third. Overall, both goaltenders were solid, which helped make the night feel tight from start to finish.
MacKinnon left the ice visibly frustrated after Colorado came up empty on a late power play in regulation and then again during overtime. He has now been held pointless in five of the Avalanche’s eight losses. And with all the familiarity between these teams, this one had the feel of something that could get even more interesting the next time they meet, in January of 2027.
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