Recap: Avalanche survive Predators attack, clinch playoff spot

This game had a little bit of everything amongst the chaos.

Wild, wacky hockey is the best.

March Madness isn’t reserved just for college basketball but for the Colorado Avalanche as well. After going down 4-2, they responded with a five-goal rout to defeat the Nashville Predators 7-4.

With a little bit of everything, this game was going at 100 MPH for every second of the 60 minutes. There’s simply too much to introduce in this little blurb here, so here’s how it all unfolded.

First Period

Yakov Trenin nearly got the action started early with a goal on a rush in the opening seconds against his former team, but he was denied. At the other end, Alexandar Georgiev would be on the receiving end of a big collision by Mark Jankowski, with no goaltender interference penalty coming for the hit. This was just the start of the chippiness.

The Preds would take advantage of this play style though. After Cale Makar was injured blocking a shot and struggling to move, Nashville found room on the ice leading to a Cole Smith goal from the slot to take the lead.

Colton Sissons should’ve made it 2-0 from a one-timer in the slot, but Georgiev stood tall. It would be beneficial, as at the other end the Halifax Moosehead connection would roar on with Nathan MacKinnon feeding Jonathan Drouin the equalizer.

Drouin nearly recorded a second goal on a backhander which snuck through Kevin Lankinen and sat in the crease. But, he managed to fall onto his backside to cover it. He would end up on his back once again moments later when MacKinnon was hip-checked into him by Ryan McDonagh, drawing a crowd and a rash of penalties to come from both sides. But, all of them would be killed off with no trouble.

Nashville would not need the open ice to convert, however. Jankowski would have a similar shot to Smith earlier in the frame and beat Georgiev over his right shoulder again for the lead. Just 41 seconds later, Dante Fabbro got a wicked deflection which fooled the Avalanche netminder to make it a two-goal lead just like that.

Filip Forsberg nearly made it 4-1 right after, but Georgiev made his best save of the game on the 2-on-1. It would be influential once again, as at the other end Colorado would capitalize. Keifer Sherwood took a slashing penalty, leading to Casey Mittelstadt finding a gap in the net when Lankinen was shoved down by Rantanen, who was shoved by a Nashville defender. After a review, the goal would be deemed good, and the Avs were within one.

Even though it was late in the period, the action wasn’t over. Zach Parise was on the receiving end of a hit by Jeremy Lauzon along the numbers five feet away from the Preds bench but luckily was okay. Miles Wood tried to get Lauzon to drop the gloves, but wouldn’t budge. It was just a taste of what a wild first period it was, still with 40 minutes left to go.

Second Period

If you thought the first period was wild enough, hang on.

Gustav Nyquist would secure in the first minute of the period on a 2-on-1 with Filip Forsberg to make it 4-2. This angered Georgiev, who threw the puck into the stands and earned an unsportsmanlike penalty. It would also be the end of his game, as Jared Bednar pulled him for Justus Annunen.

Ryan McDonagh would then be on the receiving end of controversy. He hit the head of Ross Colton, drawing a crowd and angering the home fans. He earned himself an early trip to the showers with a five-minute major and a 10-minute game misconduct.

This led to chances galore for Colorado. While the first half of the five-minute power play wasn’t one to write home about, the second half of it was. Mikko Rantanen had three looks which he whiffed on, or hit the crossbar with. MacKinnon whiffed on a one-timer of his own, while Drouin had his one-timer robbed by Lankinen. Luckily, they would at least get one with Artturi Lehkonen’s one-timer sneaking by to get Colorado within one.

Sean Walker would be denied by Lankinen back at even strength play, alongside Makar as well. Physicality and frustration seeped in for both sides and only seemed to grow. Brandon Duhaime shoved down Jason Zucker during a stoppage since he was slashing Wood. Meanwhile, Makar had an errant high stick hit him after a shot which drew a crowd.

After killing off a Wood slashing penalty, Makar would be at the center of an ensuing Colton Sissons hooking penalty right after the kill. He would be tripped up entering the zone which went uncalled. He was also caught up high with a stick. But to make up for none of the penalty calls, he would score from the far circle with a beautiful top-corner shot to even up the game.

Walker would be the third victim of the Avalanche to go down the tunnel injured after blocking a shot with his ribs toward the end of the period. But his linemates would make up for his absence, as Trenin scored in the closing seconds after a hard forechecking effort. His goal against his former team gave Colorado an insane 5-4 lead heading into the final frame.

Third Period

With Walker not returning for the rest of the game, the Avs would fill in his spot for the rest of the game. They didn’t stop pushing, with Wood having a great chance denied on a rush into the zone on his backhand.

It would be the MacKinnon show in the third period though. He would find the rebound from Josh Manson’s shot and get enough of it to get it over the line and make it a two-goal lead.

The insurance goal was great, even if they couldn’t convert on more odd-man rushes and man advantages for Colorado. Annunen was called into action at the other end, making a couple of key saves on Ryan O’Reilly and Roman Josi who found open spaces in the slot.

While Drouin couldn’t finish off the game with a shot off the post, MacKinnon would. Lankinen would be pulled, and MacKinnon got enough of a backhander in his own zone to get it to go in and finish off an impressive 7-4 win.

Takeaways

This game was flat-out nuts. The score says it all. Colorado was down 4-2 at one point in this game and looking flustered with the Predators pressure. But, they dug down and found gaps within the Preds system. This same team gave up eight goals to the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night, so the Avs knew it was possible to break through. They did just that, ending with seven goals on the night and taking the final game of their season series – at least in the regular season. This could very well be a playoff matchup. If it’s anything like we saw in this game, the series would be ridiculous, to say the least. Speaking of the playoffs, this win by Colorado officially clinches their spot in the postseason!

Goaltending and defense were optional in this game. It came as a surprise to some to not see Juuse Saros in the crease for Nashville. But, his opposite number one had a rough night in the crease. Georgiev gave up four goals on 13 shots and showed his frustration – earning him the rest of the night off. While most of the goals were not his fault, it did help swing momentum the other way for Colorado. Annunsen was phenomenal in relief, shutting down any Preds chance with some key saves down the stretch.

The win is crucial to stop a two-game skid for the Avalanche. It is important for points – both for the team and the players involved. MacKinnon now leads the league in points after Connor McDavid took the lead earlier this afternoon with 127. Colorado is still one point behind the Dallas Stars, sitting exactly at 100 points. It’s looking more and more likely to be a two-horse race at the top of the Central Division, with the Winnipeg Jets now six points behind the Avs in third with 94 points. With one final long road trip coming, and games against these two teams and other playoff teams in the West, Colorado has a lot to handle on their plate in the final month of the regular season.

Upcoming

The last long road trip of the season starts Monday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Puck drop is at 5:00 p.m. MT.