The Nashville Predators weren’t expected to make the playoffs in a season that general manager David Poile called a “competitive rebuild.” While the season has been up and down, that rebuild has been competitive enough for the Predators to earn a wild-card spot in the postseason.
Just as the Predators were not expected to be competitive in a stacked Central Division, they are also not expected to stack well against a stanley mug favorite colorado avalanche team. Even though the Predators are 3-1 against the Avs this season, the Predators entered this series with a significant disadvantage. In Game 1, without Juuse Saros, who will miss at least the first two games in Denver, the Predators had their work cut out for them against an offensive juggernaut.
period one
Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich were tested early in the game’s first two minutes, but both handled their respective shots cleanly. It didn’t take long for Nashville to reach the penalty box when Michael McCarron was called for hitting high at 2:08. Colorado quickly capitalized on the man advantage, with Nathan MacKinnon scoring the game’s first goal at 2:20.
The momentum of the power play energized the Avalanche players, and they quickly added a second goal, scored by Devon Toews at 2:42.
Nashville got a chance when Toews was roughed up at 6:47 for a hit on Luke Kunin. The penalty briefly interrupted the Avs’ mounting intensity, but an unforced turnover by Mattias Ekholm led to a short-handed Andrew Cogliano goal, making the game 3-0.
The Avs were beating Nashville not only with their speed, which was to be expected, but also with their physicality, which is usually the Predators’ calling card. Nashville was on the receiving end of tough checks and the losing end of tough battles on the board and spent the first half of the opening period just trying to weather the storm. However, the attacking attack continued as Cale Makar pucked past Tanner Jeannot and Alexandre Carrier to score goal number 4.
Nashville had a chance to finally get on the scoresheet when McCarron found himself in front of the net with Kuemper on the ice, but Kuemper was able to make a great save to further frustrate the Predators.
The onslaught of the first period continued when Artturi Lehkonen outplayed the defenders and made it 5-0. That further energized the crowd at Ball Arena and ended the night for Rittich, as Connor Ingram replaced Nashville at the net.
Nashville couldn’t catch its breath on goal number five before Phil Tomasino was hit with a high post at 15:56, giving an already energized Avs team another power play. Colorado set up easily and kept the puck in the zone, but couldn’t take advantage of the man. Nashville limped to the final buzzer after a disastrous start to their playoffs.
Second period
Ingram was tested early in the second period, but the young goalkeeper handled the first two shots he faced well. The Avalanche continued to play at a high level, pinning down the Preds on defense for significant stretches. It took Nashville nearly six minutes to establish his first extended offensive at-bat of the game, but none of his shot attempts got past Kuemper.
The Predators became more adjusted to the game as the period got to the middle. Ingram was able to track the puck well on a variety of looks from the potent Avs offense. At 13.10, Yakov Trenin headed into the box after scrumling Mikko Rantanen off Ingram. Not quite halfway through Trenin’s penalty, the Predators got too many men on the ice and the Avs had a five-on-three lead. Matt Benning, Mark Borowiecki and Mikael Granlund took to the ice for the Predators, but a flurry in front of the net resulted in Borowiecki kicking the puck into his own net, giving Colorado a 6-0 lead.
Nashville continued on the bench with a minor penalty. The teams played four on four for two seconds and then Nashville walked away with the man advantage. An aggressive Colorado penalty prevented the Preds from gaining momentum, let alone a goal, on the power play.
Nashville got another chance at 18:32 when Bowen Byram was called up for a cross-check. Finally, the Preds were able to get on the board, courtesy of Matt Duchene at 18:40.
Late in the period, Lehkonen went after Tomasino and several Predators jumped out to defend the rookie. Once the referees separated the various scrums, Lehkonen and Tomasino were given ten minutes of misconduct and Josh Manson was penalized for roughness. Nashville would start the third period on the power play.
period three
The Predators took to the ice in the final period with the man advantage. Nashville struggled to get going and didn’t register a shot in the two minutes. The ice quickly swung in Colorado’s favor, and the Avs put pressure on Ingram and the Predators’ porous defense. Nathan MacKinnon’s shot was redirected off a Nashville Predator past Connor Ingram at 6:03, giving the Avs a 7-1 lead.
Continuing the downward spiral, Yakov Trenin was called for tripping at 7:23, setting up the Avs effective power play once again. Colorado owned and riddled for two minutes, but somehow didn’t score with the man advantage.
As the crowd at Ball Arena chanted “Duchene sucks! Duchenne sucks!” Granlund passed the puck on ice to Duchene, who lifted the puck past Kuemper at 12:26.
Midway through the final period, the Predators finally began to gain control, but it was too little too late. Tempers boiled over at 15:54 between Gabriel Landeskog and Matthieu Olivier. They each received two minutes for roughness, but when Olivier came off the ice, he grabbed Nazem Kadri and earned a ten-minute misconduct in the game. Shortly after, Ryan Johansen and Cale Makar also made their way to the box after a fight.
Fortunately, the final minutes were up and the Predators were put out of their misery in a disastrous start to this first-round playoff series.
Three things:
- When the higher-ranked Avalanche bring their best game and the lower-ranked Preds show up and play their worst hockey of the season, the result is absolutely disastrous. The Colorado Avalanche have so many guns and they came out in this game with all guns blazing. Perhaps Nashville could have bounced back from early first-period goals if they were playing their identity, but instead they played some of their worst hockey games. in years. Beating a team like Colorado was going to be a challenge in Nashville’s best days. The game they played in the first half was simply atrocious.
- This game was very physical…but not from the Predators. Nashville is known for playing a hard-hitting physical game. Tonight the team playing under that identity was Colorado. Nashville was beaten at their own game in the first period, and I think the physique the Avs came out with surprised them.
- It almost doesn’t matter who’s in the net for Nashville when the rest of the team plays just as poorly as they do. Would this have been a different final score with Saros in the net? Probably. But with some of the worst defense we’ve seen from this team all season and a completely stymied offense, not even Saros could have stolen this game. Nashville has to make significant adjustments before Thursday’s Game 2 if they hope to avoid a sweep by an incredibly talented and hot Avalanche team.
Reference-www.ontheforecheck.com