![]() The Predators had qualified for the playoffs the last eight seasons, tied with Washington for the second-longest active streaks, trailing just Pittsburgh’s 16. Nashville was eliminated from playoff contention Tuesday night when Winnipeg clinched the Western Conference’s final playoff berth with a victory over Minnesota. They’re obviously Stanley Cup champions for a reason and it just shows the character of our group to fight till the end. “Things don’t always go to plan, but we buckled down and came out and responded well and gave ourselves a chance to win at the end. “That’s kind of the summary of the season,” Sherwood said. ![]() Sherwood played parts of the last two seasons with Colorado. It was his second goal of the game and the first two-goal game of his career. Nashville does have weapons that can cause problems and Colorado’s high powered offense is impossible to ignore.Nashville drew even at 7:08 of the second on a power-play goal from Sherwood. I can definitely see the Predators coming in with something to prove after being embarrassed on Tuesday. Playoff hockey is usually more tight checking and low scoring, but I can see this game going over 6.5 goals - especially if the Predators go back to Rittich. While I see Colorado coming out on top, -400 is not the best bang for your buck. I really like what I saw out of the rookie in Ingram, but with how poorly Nashville has played prior to Tuesday, I don’t think it will matter who’s in net.īetMGM has the Avalanche as the overwhelming favorite at -400 and Nashville at +310. With Saros out of the picture, I find it hard to believe Colorado won’t come out on top again in front of its home crowd. He also posted a 0.4 GSAx (Goals Saved Above Expected), which could be better, but it could be an outlier given how exceptional he was all season. The 10-year veteran had himself a quality game, stopping 23 out 25 shot attempts, which matches up to his season-long. This will be big for Colorado throughout the series as Nashville took the most penalties during the season at 4.78 per game.ĭarcy Kuemper has had a tremendous bounce back after starting the year off poorly. With the sixth-ranked power play on the season, which scored at a 24.3% pace, the Avs were able to score on two out of five chances in Game 1. Colorado's top players all contributed as Mackinnon, Makar and Landeskog lit the lamp. The Avs truly dominated play in Game 1 with 45 shots on net and a quality 55.14 expected goals rate. The Avalanche also have Devon Toews who’s provided a spark from the blue line. Makar has provided a spark on the blue line, averaging well over a point per game. Captain Gabriel Landeskog is back from injury, while Nathan Mackinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar and Nazem Kadri are always problems for the opposition. With Saros out, will we see Ingram come in for Game 2? Or will coach John Hynes go back to the veteran Rittich?Ĭolorado is one of the deeper teams with extreme talent on both ends of the ice. ![]() The youngster showed up and played like he belonged, stopping 30 out of 32 shots. They were a top five power play team all season and were able to nab one PP goal out of four chances.ĭavid Rittich was seen slamming his stick in anger in the pathway from the bench to the locker room and who can blame him? After a dreadful game, allowing five goals in 13 shots, it was up to rookie Connor Ingram. Duchene was the only one on the board as the team put up only 25 shots and a below average 44.86 expected goals rate. The Predators have one injury, but it’s a big one as they missed Juuse Saros in Game 1 and will be without him again for Game 2.Īs you can tell based on the score, the Predators were horrific on the offensive end. Tanner Jeannot, Mathieu Olivier, and Philip Tomasino can all get under your skin which is perfect in a playoff atmosphere. They’re also well versed in creating havoc for other teams. Matt Duchene and Filip Forsberg scored 40 goals for the first time in their careers and Roman Josi had a historic season for a defenseman. Nashville has no shortage of talent up front. They Predators didn’t look great on Tuesday and they’ll need to both make significant changes to the game plan and get better goaltending in Game 2. Similarly, Nashville didn’t have a great end to its season, but the stakes were different as it barely made the playoffs. However, coming into the playoffs fully healthy, the Avs are a force to be reckoned with. The Avs came into the playoffs off a rough end to the season, having already clinched a playoff spot. On Tuesday night, the Colorado Avalanche made mincemeat out of the Nashville Predators in a dominant 7-2 win. ![]() That’s all you could say after watching the first 20 minutes of Game 1. ![]()
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