Fortunately, Saros continued to read the plays well and kept the puck out of his net. By halfway through the first, the Predators were getting outshot 6:3, but a high quality opportunity early meant that they were still leading in expected goals (xGF%) according to Natural Stat Trick. With just under 8 minutes left in the period, Ryan Johansen got loose in the slot, but hit the crossbar instead of the back of the net. Two minutes later, a Jordan Gross hooking penalty put the Avalanche on their first power play of the night. Coming into tonight’s game, the Avalanche was boasting a 27. 6 PP%, good for 5th in the league, while the Predators’ penalty kill has been a bit up and down.

But Saros was able to hold the puck to allow his teammates a stoppage and change of skaters. At 6:34 a horrible turnover by Mark Jankowski right in front of Saros allowed Ben Meyers and Logan O’Connor a prime opportunity, which thankfully Saros was again able to save. Ryan Johansen gave the Avs their third power play of the night and they got a prime opportunity off the face off that got slightly behind Saros before he got his glove on it. This time, the Predators turned the table a bit and Trenin got two short-handed shots on the Avs net.

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However, the Avs power play has been significantly less potent since the injury to MacKinnon. The Avs used the power play to their advantage, holding the Preds’ defenders in the zone for 1:14, until a fortunate deflection of the puck over the glass allowed the Preds to get on fresh defenders. In the end, the Preds’ penalty kill held on, allowing only two unblocked shots on Saros. With two minutes left in the period, Dante Fabbro came down the wall to put a shot towards the net. However, even a tip from Johansen just in front of Georgiev wasn’t enough to get the puck through the Avalanche netminder.

Even as the Predators killed the penalty, the Avs continued to hold the zone, keeping the defenders on the ice for more than two minutes before the Preds were finally able to clear the zone and change. With under 30 seconds in the period, the Preds had a bit of momentum and were clearly pushing until a bad turnover in the defensive zone allowed the Avs a 2 on 1, which they cashed in for Alex Newhook’s 7th goal of the year. 0-2 Avs.

First The Predators began the game with more energy than they’ve seemed to have lately and had an early advantage in zone time. But the first shot of the game for the Avs was a prime scoring chance as the Preds’ defense allowed Valeri Nichushkin to penetrate and shoot right in front of Juuse Saros, who stood tall. This was followed quickly by a couple more opportunities for the Avs.

At 10:21, Evan Rodrigues got a great chance as the Avs stretched the Preds’ defense out and he found himself all alone up ice. But Saros once again stood tall and kept the Preds down by only one goal. At 4:15, Rodrigues again got free up ice. But even with a clever spin move, Saros wasn’t fooled and the score remained 1-2 Avs. The last two minutes of the game lacked the urgency one might expect from a team down one goal with the Preds repeatedly having issues establishing themselves in the offensive zone.

Overall, the second period shifted much more in the Avalanche’s favor, and not just on the scoreboard. Notice on the all-situations shot map below that the Avs (largely by virtue of their power play) were able to build up more shot attempts right in front of Saros, while the Preds largely failed to do the same in front of Georgiev. All situations shot map at the end of the 2nd period. Third With 20 minutes remaining, the Preds needed to make something happen to get back into the game. At 16:35, Duchene got his own rebound and was able to finally get the puck behind Georgiev. 1-2 Avs. And boos from the home crowd rained down.

With 15 seconds left in the period, Cole Smith drew a slashing penalty from Mikko Rantanen, but the Preds were unable to get any shots on goal before the horn sounded. Overall, it was a pretty good period for the Predators 5 on 5. 5v5 shot map at the end of the 1st period. NaturalStatTrick. com But the full 2-minute power play for the Avalanche gave them an advantage in special teams and overall. Second The Predators began the period with 1:46 remaining on the penalty to Rantanen and a clean sheet of ice. The Predators’ power play has been abysmal, ranking 31st in the league this season and having failed to score on 18 consecutive opportunities.

How to Watch, Live Stream Preds at AvalancheLess than 24 hours after a win in the desert, the Nashville Predators will look to tie and set a pair of franchise records tonight in Colorado against the Avalanche. It's the fourth and final meeting of the campaign between the two potential postseason foes with the Preds looking for a clean sweep of the regular-season series. The Predators currently have points in 13 consecutive contests (12-0-1) and would tie a franchise record if they are able to collect at least one more this evening. In addition, Nashville has points in 13 straight road outings (10-0-3) which has already tied a franchise mark.

Kevin Fiala and Ryan Ellis also tallied in the win, while goaltender Pekka Rinne extended his personal win streak to 10 games, one shy of tying his career high. Viktor Arvidsson leads the Preds with 26 goals and 52 points, followed by P. K. Subban with 50 points and Filip Forsberg with 49. Fiala now has 23 goals on the season; Smith has 21 and Forsberg has 18. The Opposition:Colorado is also skating on the second half of a back-to-back tonight after defeating the Blues in St. Louis by a 4-1 final. The Avalanche have points in nine consecutive games, including a 4-3 overtime loss to the Preds less than two weeks ago. MVP candidate Nathan MacKinnon has 35 goals and 85 points on the season to lead the Avs, followed by Mikko Rantanen with 25 goals and 74 points, and then Gabriel Landeskog with 22 goals and 52 points. The Predators could see Semyon Varlamov once more tonight; the netminder is 20-13-6 this season.

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Nashville will be without forward Calle Jarnkrok for the remainder of the regular season due to an upper-body injury. Center Mike Fisher, as well as defensemen Yannick Weber and Matt Irwin, were scratched on Thursday night but could enter the lineup this evening on the second half of a back-to-back. Video: Turris paces Predators to 3-2 victory against CoyotesLast Time Out:Kyle Turris recorded a goal and two assists as the Predators collected their first win in Arizona in over three calendar years, a 3-2 victory.

A number of interesting bounces led to a prime opportunity for Nino Neiderreiter, but he could not get it by Georgiev. The Preds looked better on this power play than they have of late, with more movement and greater opportunities, but in the end they again had nothing to show for it. At 12;08, Yakov Trenin gave the Avs their second power play with a holding penalty on Alex Newhook. The Avs moved the puck well and got two quick shots on Saros, Rantanen then hit the post before he finally cashed in on a beautiful shot for the first goal of the game. 0-1 Avs. After that first goal, things really turned in the Avs’ favor.

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