After an explosive 7-2 victory for the Avalanche in Game 1, Game 2 required overtime to be decided.
MacKinnon carried over his dominant postseason performance following a three-point outing (2G, 1A) in Game 1 as he put his team on the board scoring on the Avalanche's first shot of the game at 5:25. MacKinnon grabbed a pass from O'Connor - who made his 2022 postseason debut - in the neutral zone, jetted up ice and unleashed a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle past Ingram's elbow to give Colorado a 1-0 lead.
With a 1-0 lead in the game and the series, the Avs expected some push back from the Predators, who served it. The remainder of the period saw tensions elevate as a combined 20 hits - 13 from Nashville and seven from Colorado - were exchanged just through seven minutes of play and the period ended with 26 hits laid from Nashville and 25 administered from the Avs.
The Preds tenacity paid off as they tied the score 1-1 at 15:19. The team countered on a Colorado turnover at the blueline and Trenin pinpointed his shot over Kuemper's glove for the equalizer.
Colorado put forth a dominant 21-shot second period and held Nashville to just five for the frame. While the Avs benefitted from three power plays in the period, they weren't able to convert and the tensions only began to rise as the physical play amplified.
In the final minutes of the period, the Avs seemingly scored as Valeri Nichuhskin lofted a backhander over Ingram, who was sprawled out on his crease. The goal was immediately overturned as Nashville's Dante Fabbro and Artturi Lehkonen were jousting at the net front and Lehkonen was knocked into the crease and took Ingram out from his stance. Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar challenged the goal to be reviewed, but upon review the officials confirmed their original call that the goal was disallowed due to interference, leaving both teams tied 1-1 heading into the final period.
With the stalemate 1-1 score, the Avs amped up the offense and generated some stellar looks, but Ingram preserved them to give his team life heading into overtime. The Avs outshot Nashville 13-4 in the frame - even after having to kill off an early 5-on-3. Ingram made some big stops including; Nazem Kadri one timer on the backdoor midway through the period as Bowen Byram threaded him a pass on 2-on-1 and Ingram also gloved down a Cale Makar shot from the left circle. He also denied a plethora of chances as the Avs received a power play for Luke Kunin's cross checking penalty at 13:02.
