Avalanche Win Third-Straight with 5-3 Showing Over Predators

For Maxy.
The Colorado Avalanche picked up their third-straight win after defeating the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Thursday night at Ball Arena as they honored the loss of longtime Altitude Sports analyst and fixture in the community, Peter McNab. The game marked the Avalanche's first home in almost exactly three weeks after traveling to New York for a three-game road trip followed by the 2022 Global Series in Tampere, Finland. The Avalanche are now 7-4-1 on the season.

For the Avalanche, Mikko Rantanen (2G, 1A) lit the lamp twice including once on the power play and once at even strength and Logan O'Connor also posted a two-goal outing. Evan Rodrigues also added a power-play goal. J.T. Compher assisted on both of O'Connor's goals, while Nathan MacKinnon assisted on both of Rantanen's goals. Alexandar Georgiev made 32 saves on 35 shots as he made his third-straight start. Shane Bowers made his NHL debut.
For the Predators, Eeli Tolvanen and Roman Josi scored at even strength, while Ryan Johansen converted on the power play. Kevin Lankinen made 30 saves on 35 shots.

GAME SUMMARY:

Thursday featured a decent effort from the Avalanche - who played a solid game despite adding Bowen Byram (week-to-week), Valeri Nichushkin (out for at least a month) and Samuel Girard (day-to-day) - all with lower-body injuries - to their list of injured skaters.
The Avalanche and Predators skated out to a feisty 1-1 score after the opening 20 minutes of play, where Colorado held a 22-14 shot advantage but admitted it was a "sloppy" period from them, as Rantanen noted postgame. The Predators threw 17 hits compared to the Avalanche's eight in the first frame.
Just 3:45 into the period, Nashville capitalized on a defensive-zone breakdown as they executed a tic-tac-toe passing sequence to secure the game's icebreaker. Cody Glass and Ryan McDonagh exchanged a give-and-go before McDonagh snapped the puck to the backdoor for Tolvanen to bury into the open net.

Colorado received its first power play of the game at 6:29 as McDonagh took a cross checking penalty and the Avalanche's lethal extra-man unit went to work. After setting MacKinnon up for multiple chances with one timers from the right faceoff circle. After collecting his own rebound, MacKinnon zipped a cross-slot pass to the left faceoff circle onto the tape of Rantanen. The Finnish winger fired a one timer into the net for the equalizer and his eighth goal of the season.
Late in the first period, Bowers left the game after a collision with Nashville forward Tanner Jeannot along the boards. The team later announced that Bowers sustained an upper-body injury and would not be returning.
With the game locked at a 1-1 score, the Avalanche unleashed the offense in the third period as they extended their lead 4-1 with two goals in the span of 1:25 from O'Connor and another strike from Rantanen.

O'Connor tallied his first goal of the game - and therefore extended his goal streak to three-straight games - as he redirected a point shot from Devon Toews into the Predators' net at 6:34 to give Colorado its first lead of the game.
Just 1:25 after his first goal, J.T. Compher came up with a huge block at the Avalanche's blueline on a point shot. The blocked shot spat out into the neutral zone and O'Connor raced to grab it and charged towards the Nashville net on a breakaway. The 26-year-old winger dragged the puck from his forehand to his backhand and lifted the puck into the net at 7:59.

Nashville was awarded a power play at 8:40 as Rantanen was called for cross checking. Fortunately, the Avalanche's penalty kill came through with a strong performance which primed Rantanen for a breakaway as he exited the penalty box and collected a pass from MacKinnon. On the breakaway, Rantanen wired a wrist shot over Lankinen at 10:48 to extend Colorado's lead 4-1.
The Avalanche then furthered their lead 5-1 at 15:12 with their second power-play goal of the game as Nashville's Jeremy Lauzon was assessed for tripping at 14:32. On the Avalanche power play, Rantanen set up Rodrigues in the slot where he fired a one timer on net. The shot deflected off the stick of a Predators defenseman and past Lankinen.

Nashville trimmed its deficit down 5-2 late in the third period on a power play goal as Artturi Lehkonen was sent to the box at 19:05 in the second frame. At 19:32, Johansen tipped in a point shot from Mikael Granlund past the near post of Georgiev.
Early in the third period, Nashville chipped away to trim its deficit down 5-3 with a goal from their captain. At 2:59, Josi beat Georgiev with a rocket of a shot from distance.

CELEBRATION OF MAXY

Prior to puck drop, the Avalanche played a tribute video to honor the life and legacy of Peter McNab, who passed away last Sunday.

McNab was the color analyst for the team since 1995 and left a lasting impact among not just the organization, but the community for his unwavering kindness, warm personality and eternal optimism. As a player, McNab skated 955 NHL games - between the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and New Jersey Devils - and amassed 813-career points (363G, 450A).
As November is Hockey Fights Cancer month, the Avalanche also placed 'I Fight For: Peter McNab' placards on every seat in the press box along with a flower.
Following the video tribute, those in attendance at Ball Arena were asked to join together not in a moment of silence, but rather for a celebration of Peter as a lengthy applause broke out.

NOTEWORTHY:

• Mikko Rantanen buried his eighth and ninth goals of the season which included his second power-play goal.
• O'Connor scored his fourth and fifth goals of the season and now has scored in three-straight games.
• Rodrigues scored his fifth goal of the season and third power-play goal.
• MacKinnon's hot streak continued as the centerman extended his point streak to four games with two assists on Rantanen's power-play goal and even-strength goal. MacKinnon has totaled 11 points on as many helpers in the last four games and leads the Avalanche in scoring with 21 points (3G, 18A).
• J.T. Compher handed out two assists.
• Shane Bowers made his NHL debut. The 23-year-old Halifax native centered a line with Sampo Ranta and Dryden Hunt. Bowers skated 1:46 minutes and fired off one shot before sustaining an upper-body injury.
• Ranta made his season debut for the Avalanche.
• Georgiev made his ninth start of the season and improved his record to 7-1-1.
• Colorado finished the game 2-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.
• Bowen Byram and Samuel Girard (both sidelined with lower-body injuries) scratches for Colorado.

NEXT GAME:

The Avalanche continue their three-game homestand as they host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night at Ball Arena. The puck drops between the Avs and Preds at 7:00 p.m. MT.