Avalanche And Predators Clash In Game 5

The 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs First-Round series between the Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators heads back to Nashville for Game 5 on Friday night, as Colorado looks to rally from a 3-1 deficit in the series and force a Game 6 back in the Mile High City.
The Predators took Games 1 and 2 in Nashville, and the Avalanche held serve on Monday in Game 3, winning 5-3 to guarantee at least another trip to Music City for Game 5. The Preds came out on top in Wednesday's Game 4 to head back to Bridgestone Arena in what is now a win-or-go home scenario for the Avalanche.
The Avs are competing in the postseason for the first time since 2014 and for the 14th time since moving to Denver. This is the first-ever postseason meeting between Colorado and Nashville.

Recapping Game 4

Colorado fought back from a three-goal deficit in Game 4 on Wednesday night but ultimately fell 3-2 to Nashville at Pepsi Center. The Predators led 3-0 after 40 minutes of play, backed by a goal and an assist from Filip Forsberg and two helpers from Mattias Ekholm. The Avalanche got tallies from Gabriel Landeskog and Alexander Kerfoot in the final period and outshot the Predators 11-8 in the frame as it pushed to complete the comeback. Colorado was 1-for-5 on the power play and held Nashville without a goal on three man-advantage opportunities.

What To Watch

High-Scoring Affair
The Avalanche and Predators have combined for 29 goals through the first four games (7.25 goals-per-game), the highest-scoring series of the postseason so far.
Gabriel Landeskog leads the Avalanche with six points (three goals, three assists) in the series, while Nashville has been paced by four players who have five points each--Austin Watson (three goals, two assists), Filip Forsberg (three goals, two assists), Colton Sissons (three goals, two assists) and Ryan Johansen (two goals, three assists).
Hammond Takes The Crease
Andrew Hammond entered Wednesday's game in the third period in relief of Jonathan Bernier, who suffered a lower-body injury, and stopped all eight shots he faced. Hammond has previous playoff experience as a member of the Ottawa Senators in 2015, the year his "Hamburglar" nickname took off. He helped launch Ottawa into the playoffs by going 20-1-2, all of which took place between Feb. 16 and the regular-season finale on April 11.
Win-Or-Go-Home Tilt
The Avs won't be in unfamiliar territory on Friday night, as they also faced a do-or-die scenario in Game 82 of the regular season when they faced the St. Louis Blues, with the winning team advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"That's the only thing we can draw off of. That's the last time we were facing elimination as a group," said head coach Jared Bednar prior to the team's flight to Nashville on Thursday morning. "It's a similar situation tomorrow, except it's on the road. But it's a building we just played in twice, and we know what to expect so it's not going to be a big secret for us. We're going to face them there tomorrow night, and hopefully we can draw back on that and put our best foot forward."

Players To Watch

Colorado: Defenseman Nikita Zadorov
The Avs and Preds combined for 66 hits in Wednesday's game, and as the series continues to become more physical, Colorado's 6-foot-5, 230-pound defenseman will be relied on more heavily. Zadorov has a team-high plus-3 rating through the first four outings and his three points (one goal, two assists) are tied with Tyson Barrie for the team lead among blueliners.
Nashville: Right Wing Austin Watson
Watson has tallied at least a point in each game of the series so far, totaling five points (three goals, two assists) and tied for the team lead in scoring. Watson has six points (three goals, three assists) in 12 career regular-season outings against the Avalanche, his most points against a single opponent in his career.

The Details

Friday night's Game 5 matchup between the Avs and Preds begins at 7:30 p.m. MT. The game can be watched live locally on Altitude or nationally in the U.S. on NBCSN. Viewers in Canada can view the game on Sportsnet 360 or TVA Sports. The radio broadcast will be on Altitude Sports Radio AM 950 and online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.
Fans can again head to Pepsi Center to watch the game on Pepsi Vision. The watch party is free and open to the public. Parking at Pepsi Center is also free of charge and concessions inside the arena will offer a 25% discount. Doors to Pepsi Center will open at 6:30 p.m. Click here to RSVP.
Danielle Bernstein contributed to this story