Late Push Not Enough In Game 4

The Colorado Avalanche finished Game 4 of its first-round matchup playing with desperation and pressure, but fell 3-2 to the Nashville Predators after a slow start on Wednesday at Pepsi Center.
With Colorado's loss, Nashville now has a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Less than two minutes into the game, Colorado found itself in a 3-on-5 situation for 1:20 but was able to kill both penalties. However, the early power-play opportunities swung the momentum in Nashville's favor. At the end of the first period, the Preds had a 30-16 advantage in shot attempts.

Entering the third frame, Colorado was down 3-0 but scored twice in the stanza and continued to push until the final buzzer.
"I am obviously upset at the result. I loved our third, there is no question, but we need to find that urgency earlier," said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar. "We were going back for pucks, pushing them up the ice in a hurry, putting pucks in, on the hunt on the forecheck and the purpose is to get pucks and players to the net, and we did that. Even after it was 3-2, we had to have three or four real good looks at the net for scoring chances.
"The first period, come out I don't think the 3 versus 5 against us in the first two minutes helped us. It kind of gave them a little rhythm, a little confidence and then they came after us, but we had to be prepared that they were going to come at us hard there. I just didn't think we found that urgency and that desperate early enough."

Gabriel Landeskog scored a 5-on-3 goal early in the third to get things started offensively for Colorado, but he had been leading his team physically throughout the entire game as he had a postseason career-high seven hits.
Landeskog's goal was his sixth point and third marker of the playoffs, matching his career high from the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Shortly after the captain's power-play tally, rookie Alex Kerfoot cut the deficit to 3-2 by sending a rebound past Predators goaltender and Vezina-Trophy finalist Pekka Rinne.
The Avs fired more pucks at net than Nashville in the third period and finished the contest with a 63-62 edge in shot attempts.
"It goes to show what kind of character guys are in this dressing room," said Landeskog. "I would like to see it a little bit earlier, that desperation and hunger on the forecheck and things like that, but that third period I think we do it all right. We have enough scoring chances there to tie it up, [Colin Wilson] has a close one there at the end. That's the way it is."
"I think it is what we have seen all year long, there is no quit in this group," added defenseman Mark Barberio. "It was just a case of just a little too late, and that's hockey. You got to show up for a full 60, and I don't think we had our best game tonight. We are in a hole, but we just got to focus on the next game. Last I checked, it takes four games to win a series and we are still in it."

LOOKING TOWARD GAME 5

The Avalanche and Predators will head to Nashville for Game 5 on Friday. Down 3-1 in the series, the next three games will be must-wins for Colorado in order to advance to the second round.
"It's just one game. Our goal is go there and win that game and then we know we are coming here and we prepare again," said Bednar. "You have to break it down. You can't think about 'oh we have to go win three in a row.' It's simple. You go into Nashville, you play your game. Get to the game we played in the third period, get to the game we played the other night early and stay with it for 60 minutes or more, whatever it takes."

"I think we are just going to look at it as a great challenge. I mean, what a great challenge to go into that building and try to steal one," said Landeskog. "We don't want the season to end like this in front of our home fans, so we would like to get back here one more time so that will be the goal and then we will see after that."

BERNIER LEAVES WITH UPPER-BODY INJURY

After making 23 saves in the first two periods, goaltender Jonathan Bernier did not return for the third frame due to a lower-body injury. After the contest, Bednar did not have an update on Bernier.
Andrew Hammond went between the pipes for the third period and stopped all eight shots he faced.
"I haven't seen [Hammond] a lot, he hasn't played a lot," said Bednar. "He has been in twice now, and he has done a good job so that's a situation we possibly could be in. I don't know if that is the case just yet, but I mean from what I have seen he has been OK."
It was the first time this postseason Hammond has guarded the Colorado net and the second time overall. The outing marked his first playoff appearance since April 17, 2015 with the Ottawa Senators at the Montreal Canadiens.
"I mean he didn't have a whole bunch of work, but he was good," Bednar said of Hammond. "He made the saves he needed to make so that was good to see. Hopefully it gives him a little confidence because I don't know what is going with Berns."