Rapid Recap: Avalanche 9, Predators 4

Joonas Donskoi recorded his first career NHL hat trick, netting three of the Colorado Avalanche's goals in its 9-4 win against the Nashville Predators on Thursday at Pepsi Center.
Nathan MacKinnon registered four points in the win while forward Andre Burakovsky and defensemen Cale Makar and Ryan Graves all added three points, with each skater scoring and adding two helpers. Matt Nieto and Matt Calvert also tallied for Colorado.
The Avalanche scored six goals in the second period in the span of eight minutes to tie the franchise record for the most tallies in a single frame and set a new mark for the fastest six goals.
Colorado's nine goals are its most in a game since Dec. 9, 2007 in a 9-5 win over the St. Louis Blues at Pepsi Center.

Ryan Ellis, Filip Forsberg, Matt Duchene and Craig Smith scored for the Predators. Pekka Rinne allowed five goals on 22 shots before being replaced by Juuse Saros 26:57 into the contest.
The Avs conclude their two-game homestand on Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Statistics
|
Photo Gallery
|
Postgame Notes & Quotes
|
Highlights
|
Watch: Coach Bednar Postgame
THE GOALS
1st Period
0:49 COL (1-0) - Cale Makar scored his second of the season with a wrist shot from the point to give Colorado an early lead.
12:08 NSH (1-1) - Ryan Johansen won a faceoff back to Ryan Ellis, who scored with a shot from the point.
17:56 COL (2-1) - PPG, Nathan MacKinnon scored through traffic while on a 5-on-3 power play.
2nd Period
1:25 NSH (2-2) - Filip Forsberg tallied with a shot from the right circle that went five-hole.
4:55 NSH (2-3) - PPG, Matt Duchene batted a rebound over Pavel Francouz while on the power play.
5:26 COL (3-3) - Joonas Donskoi answered quickly for the Avs, as he collected a loose puck and spun around in the slot before shooting the puck.
5:46 COL (4-3) - Ryan Graves scored his second of the season with a shot from the point to give the Avalanche the lead.
6:57 COL (5-3) - Andre Burakovksy extended the lead with a wrist shot from the right circle.
7:47 COL (6-3) - SHG, Matt Nieto tapped in a pass from J.T. Compher on a short-handed rush.
10:01 COL (7-3) - Matt Calvert slipped a rebound under Juuse Saros to give the Avalanche a four-goal lead.
13:26 COL (8-3) - Joonas Donskoi deflected Erik Johnson's shot in the crease to record his second goal of the game.
3rd Period
12:41 NSH (8-4) - Craig Smith recorded his second goal of the season. Nick Bonino and Rocco Grimaldi assisted on the marker.
17:53 COL (9-4) - PPG, Joonas Donskoi completed the hat trick with his third goal of the night. T.J. Tynan recorded his first NHL point with an assist on the tally.
Final: Avalanche - 9 | Predators - 4

3 STARS

Selected by Colorado Hockey Coach of the Game: Greg Rowe (Lafayette Locomotive Hockey Club)

POWER PLAYS

Colorado: 2 for 6
Nashville: 1 for 4

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Pavel Francouz made his fifth career NHL start and made 20 saves.
Nashville: Pekka Rinne started the game and allowed five goals on 22 shots. Juuse Saros finished the contest with 19-of-23 saves.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

Colorado's six goals in the second period tied the franchise record for the most tallies in a single frame. It is the 11th time that the club has found the back of the net six times in a stanza and the first since the Avs scored six in the second period against the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 19, 2019 at Pepsi Center.
All six markers against the Predators came in an eight-minute span, establishing a franchise record for the fastest six goals in a game. It eclipsed the previous mark of 8:06, set by the Quebec Nordiques on Feb. 22, 1981 in an 11-7 win at Washington.

NOTEBOOK

Joonas Donskoi recorded his first career hat trick, scoring twice in the second period and again in the third... Nathan MacKinnon recorded his first four-point outing of the season with a goal and three assists… Rookie defenseman Cale Makar registered his first three-point game with a goal and two assists. He leads all first-year players with 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) so far this campaign… Blueliner Ryan Graves recorded his first three-point contest with a goal and two helpers. It was also the first multi-point game of his career… T.J. Tynan played his first game of the season and his first as a member of the Avalanche. He recorded an assist on Donskoi's third marker to register his first NHL point… Colorado registered its fastest three goals of the season (1:31), four goals (2:21), five goals (4:35) and six goals (8:00)… Colorado's nine goals are its most in a game since Dec. 9, 2007 in a 9-5 win over the St. Louis Blues at Pepsi Center… The Avs' 45 shots were their most this season.

QUOTABLE

Joonas Donskoi on the second period: "That was insane. I think it showed a lot about the character in this locker room. We lost a couple of games before and they got a couple goals but we didn't hang our heads, we just kept going. I felt like we had a good first and a pretty solid 60 minutes, so I'm happy that we just kept going and we trusted that we were going to get the goals."

BIG HIGHLIGHT

IMAGE OF THE GAME

Raining Hats

ROSTER REPORT
It was T.J. Tynan's first outing with the Avalanche and fourth career NHL contest. He last played in the league with the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 11, 2017 at the Buffalo Sabres… Defenseman Mark Barberio returned to the lineup while Ian Cole was the team's healthy scratch… Pavel Francouz made his fifth career NHL start… Adam Werner was the backup netminder after makin ghis first NHL call-up earlier in the day.

INJURY UPDATE

Nathan MacKinnon left the contest after the second intermission with an upper-body injury and did not return. Head coach Jared Bednar said postgame that it was precautionary... Nikita Zadorov left the game about five minutes into the second period with an upper-body injury... Philipp Grubauer missed the contest with a lower-body injury, and he is day-to-day with the ailment... Colin Wilson (day-to-day), Mikko Rantanen (week-to-week) and Gabriel Landeskog (out indefinitely)all remain out with their own lower-body injuries.

UP NEXT

Colorado concludes its quick two-game homestay against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday before embarking on a five-game road trip on Monday.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on start of the game
Forwards
72 Joonas Donskoi - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 11 Matt Calvert
17 Tyson Jost - 91 Nazem Kadri - 37 J.T. Compher
83 Matt Nieto - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 13 Valeri Nichushkin
95 Andre Burakovksy - 81 Vladislav Kamenev - 36 T.J. Tynan
Defensemen
49 Samuel Girard - 6 Erik Johnson
27 Ryan Graves - 8 Cale Makar
16 Nikita Zadorov - 44 Mark Barberio
Goaltenders
39 Pavel Francouz
30 Adam Werner