Avalanche Vs. Predators: Predators Dominate Avs, Win 5-1
Colorado looks to make it three wins in a row as they face Nashville for the first time this season.
Avalanche Vs. Predators: Predators Dominate Avs, Win 5-1
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over 2 years ago Update 0 comments
Nashville Scores Three Goals In Third Period, Defeats Avalanche 5-1
The Nashville Predators brought their hot streak to the Pepsi Center and ran through the shorthanded Colorado Avalanche, winning their ninth goal in the last 11 games and placing themselves in serious contention in the Central Division.
Colorado was playing with makeshift lines following the news that Tomas Fleischmann will miss the remainder of the season and the demotion of T.J. Galiardi to Lake Erie. Their offense struggled to get any solid chances on Predators goalie Pekka Rinne, with one goal stripped away at the end of the second period.
With the Avalanche down 2-0, recent callup Ryan Stoa appeared to backhand a rebound past Rinne. Replays showed that the puck crossed the goal line before bouncing off the skate of Rinne and out of the crease. The official determined that the review was inconclusive and waived off the score.
Nashville answered back with three straight goals in the third period to put the game out of reach. Matt Duchene scored a goal in the final two minutes to put Colorado on the scoreboard, but it was far too little, too late.
The Avalanche are still winless on the season when they fail to score three or more goals.
Colorado plays the Boston Bruins next at Pepsi Center on Saturday afternoon.
over 2 years ago Update 0 comments
Avalanche Vs. Predators: Colorado Looks To Extend Winning Streak
The Colorado Avalanche finally beat the Vancouver Canucks this season, with an overtime victory on Tuesday thanks to David Jones' two goals. Colorado has now won two games in a row for the first time since December 19. With four games left on this homestand, the Avalanche welcome the Nashville Predators to Pepsi Center for their first meeting of the season.
Nashville comes into this game one of the hottest teams in the NHL, having won eight of their past 10 games (and scoring three or more goals in eight of those games). Because of this recent surge, the Predators find themselves in second place within the Central Division, despite not having a single player that has scored more than 30 points on the season (defenseman Shea Weber leads the club with 28 points). Goalie Pekka Rinne has carried them, sporting a .953 SV% during the streak and only allowing 12 goals in eight games played. The Predators are one of the stingiest teams in the league, allowing only 111 goals on the season. They don't score often either, placing in the bottom third of the league in goals scored, power play percentage, power play goals scored, and shorthanded goals.
Expect this game to be a matchup of opposites, as the Avalanche offense has shown signs of emerging from their month-long slump. Chris Stewart has returned from injury, though he has yet to tally a point. Tomas Fleischmann and Milan Hejduk have been carrying the offense of late, and they are finally getting some support in net. Goalie Craig Anderson has begun to play like a number one goalie for the first time all season, with a 2.43 GAA and a .923 SV% his previous seven starts.
Recent transactions leave the Avalanche a different team for this game. Defenseman Kyle Cumiskey will play for the first time since suffering a concussion on October 30. T.J. Galiardi has been sent down to Lake Erie, and former second round pick (2005) Ryan Stoa has been called up to take his place centering the third line, as Ryan O'Reilly will miss the next two weeks with a shoulder injury.
Craig Anderson and Pekka Rinne will be starting in goal.
Puck drops at 7:00 pm MST.
