Avalanche Looks to Bounce Back in Game 2 on Saturday

The Avalanche looks to bounce back in Game 2 of its opening-round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Nashville Predators on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena.
Colorado and Nashville will clash once more in Music City before the series moves to Denver for Games 3 and 4 next week.

Recapping Game 1

Colorado got the first tally of the game with Nikita Zadorov's first career postseason goal early in the first period, but the Predators twice overcame a one-goal deficit to ultimately take a 5-2 win over the Avs on Thursday night at Bridgetstone Arena. Blake Comeau also scored, his first playoff tally in an Avalanche sweater and first since scoring in Game 1 of the Pittsburgh Penguins' first-round series against the New York Rangers in 2015.
The Avalanche was scoreless on three power-play opportunities, while the Predators scored on one of their two chances with the man advantage. Jonathan Bernier finished with 26 saves, a postseason career high.

What to Watch

Power Play
The Avalanche's power-play unit came up empty on three chances with the man advantage on Thursday. Colorado scored 65 power-play goals during the regular season, third in the NHL behind Pittsburgh (68) and Tampa Bay (66). The Avs ended the season by potting a man-advantage tally in five straight games, going 7-for-14 (50 percent) in that span, and converted at a 31.1 percent clip (25-for-80) over their last 24 outings.
Faceoffs
The Avalanche finished with a 53-47 advantage at the face-off circle on Thursday night, the fourth-best win percentage of any team in Game 1 throughout the first round. Colorado was 3-for-3 on draws in shorthanded situations.

Players to Watch

Colorado: Defenseman Samuel Girard
Girard was one of eight Avalanche players, three of which were defensemen, to make their Stanley Cup Playoff debut on Thursday. He finished with a team-high four shots and was third in overall ice time-second among the Avs' D-men only to Tyson Barrie-at 22:07.
Nashville: Defenseman Roman Josi
The Predators captain had one assist in Thursday's game, which came on Filip Forsberg's game-winning tally, and finished with a plus-4 rating (tied for a team high) and a team-high five blocked shots.

The Details

Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round series between the Avs and Preds begins at 1 p.m. MT and can be watched live on NBC, while the radio broadcast will be available on Altitude Sports Radio AM950 or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.
Additionally, fans are again invited to watch the game on the Pepsi Vision scoreboard at Pepsi Center.
Parking is free of charge, all concessions are 25% off and entry to the event can be gained through the Grand Atrium located on the west side of the arena.
Danielle Bernstein contributed to this story.