The Colorado Avalanche are down 3-1 to the Nashville Predators on Thursday night after two periods of play. For almost 20 minutes the Avalanche and the Predators were unable to score, but Sergei Kostitsyn changed all that with just 32 seconds left on the clock. The Avalanche committed a costly turnover that resulted in Kostitsyn put the puck in the back of the net for a bit of a buffer heading into the final period of play.
At the end of the period, Steve Downie and Mike Fisher each received two minutes for roughing on one another. About a minute before the Nashville goal, Cody McLeod and Jordin Tootoo started laying into each other, which provided life to a period that previously lacked it.
Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson had left the ice for several minutes, but he wound up making it back toward the end of the period.
Nashville holds a 22-12 shot advantage over Colorado, but the latter at least approached double-digit shots, falling one short at nine.
For more coverage, visit our Avalanche blog Mile High Hockey and our Predators blog On The Forecheck.