Filip Forsberg and Steven Stamkos put Nashville in front early, and the Predators carried a 2-0 lead into the first intermission against the Colorado Avalanche after a first period that leaned heavily in their favor.
Forsberg opened the scoring on the power play after Parker Kelly was whistled for hooking, finishing for his 21st career goal against the Avalanche. Not long after, Stamkos pushed the advantage to two on a tight play that went to video review before the puck was confirmed across the line just past the midpoint of the period.
Colorado had chances to answer with the man advantage, but the Avalanche never found traction. Predators captain Roman was called for cross-checking Artturi Lehkonen over a minute later, yet Colorado failed to put a shot on net and looked disjointed throughout the frame. Turnovers and missed passes kept undercutting any chance at a clean offensive push.
That pattern continued into the second period, where Colorado’s puck management remained shaky. Bad clears and miscommunication turned into multiple 2-on-1 rushes for Nashville, and Scott Wedgewood was forced to keep the game from getting away from the Avalanche. One of his biggest stops came against 41-year-old Brent Burns, who was appearing in his 1,019th consecutive NHL game.
The Avalanche also wasted another power play and again failed to get a shot on goal. Then Sam Malinski was assessed a too many men on the ice penalty, giving Nashville another opening to strike.
Around that sequence, Martin Necas and Jordan Struble exchanged blows after Struble jabbed him following the whistle. Necas answered with a slash, the pair wrestled along the boards, and Gabriel Landeskog joined the scrum.
Necas and Struble were both tagged for roughing, while Malinski’s penalty left Colorado down a man.
Nashville cashed in again. Ryan O'Reilly, the former Avalanche forward, found space alone in the low slot, took the pass, moved Wedgewood out of position with a deke, and finished to make it 3-0. It was the Predators’ second power play goal of the night.
Josi was later penalized for the second time after slashing MacKinnon, and Colorado slipped to 0/3 on the power play. When that still didn’t spark the Avalanche, Parker Kelly and Struble settled things with their gloves off, and Kelly finished the fight by taking Struble down to the ice.
In Other News...
Avalanche Just Showed The Problem Fans Keep Fearing
A bad night at home can look different from one team to the next, but for the Avalanche it came with the kind of problems that tend to linger in a long season. Colorado jumped in front early against Nashville and still walked away with a 6-2 loss, getting outshot 35-21 and watching the game slip away as the Predators kept finding answers. The power play had chances to swing momentum back, yet the Avalanche went scoreless on four opportunities and never fully recovered from the early collapse.
The more troubling part was how often the cracks showed when Colorado was trying to kill penalties, because Nashville cashed in four times on seven man-advantage chances. That kind of special teams gap is the sort of issue fans notice fast, especially when it comes on a night when the building should have been an advantage. Even a late benching of Fedor Svechkov in the third period did little to change the tone, and now the Avalanche move on to a home date with the New Jersey Devils looking for a much cleaner response. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Pipeline Took Another Tough Turn After Costly Eagles Mistakes
The Colorado Eagles had a promising start before things quickly unraveled in a 4-1 loss to the Bakersfield Condors, a result that left another mark on the Avalanche pipeline. Nikita Prishchepov supplied the lone goal for Colorado, but the rest of the night belonged to Bakersfield after the teams were tied 1-1.
Aku Raty powered the Condors with two goals, and Nathan Day picked up his first win of the season with 28 saves. Colorado goaltender Trent Miner faced 30 shots and allowed four goals, as the Eagles could not recover once Bakersfield strung together three unanswered tallies. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Road Problem Is Starting To Look Way Too Familiar
The Avalanches trip to Bridgestone Arena turned into another uneasy reminder of how quickly things can unravel away from home. Colorado fell 6-2 to the Nashville Predators, and the game came apart in the special teams battle, where the Avalanche never found a footing while Nashville kept cashing in.
Power-play chances offered no relief for Colorado, and the penalty kill was just as costly, with Nashville scoring four times with the man advantage. Ryan OReilly was at the center of it with two power-play goals and two assists, while Jack Drury added a goal against his former team, leaving the Avalanche with another road result that felt all too familiar. [Read more 🡒]