Sammy Girard was the hero and Alexandar Georgiev had another strong outing for Colorado.

The Colorado Avalanche are back to .500 and Samuel Girard came through as the hero.

The star defenseman stole the puck from a stumbling Brady Skjei, drew a penalty, and scored on a breakaway in overtime Monday night to send the Avalanche (8-8) home as winners in a 3-2 barnburner at Ball Arena.

Devon Toews and Mikko Rantanen each scored, and Girard also had an assist for the Avs, who have won two consecutive games and three of their last four. Furthermore, Nathan MacKinnon came through with an assist to extend his season-opening home point streak to 10 games (five goals, 17 assists). And after a rough start to the season, Alexander Georgiev seems to have found his stride as he made 29 saves in another strong performance.

First Period

Nashville’s Luke Evangelista scored to make it a 1-0 game when he jumped on a rebound at the top of the crease and fired it by Georgiev at 1:45 of the opening frame. It was another slow start as Colorado was outshot 12-6 in the period.

Second Period

Toews scored his first marker of the season 4:32 into the second period when his shot deflected off a Predators’ skate and snuck past goalie Juuse Saros.

Rantanen gave the Avalanche the lead with a one-timer from the right face-off dot with 8 minutes and 23 seconds remaining in the second.

Third Period

The Predators came out with a sense of urgency to begin the final period of play and it was Colton Sissons who banged home a shot to tie the game at 2. It all started when Roman Josi fed him a pass and he did not miss, beating Georgiev a mere 59 seconds into the period.

Both goaltenders were sublime down the stretch as the game remained tied at two at the end of regulation.

Overtime

And we all know what happened from there. Girard played some excellent psychological warfare, stole the puck, and scored his first goal of the season on a breakaway 2:47 into overtime to send Colorado fans home happy. The 26-year-old Girard was mobbed by his fellow teammates on the ice after beating Saros with a scintillating shot that hit the left corner of the net.

Takeaways

Colorado is beginning to get into a groove and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The team is still plagued with injuries, but with Valeri Nichushkin returning soon from suspension, that will be a much-needed boost for the offense, given he stays out of trouble. Georgiev has had back-to-back great performances. Once the offense gets some strength back, we will see what this team is truly capable of. And as Girard exemplified, this team isn’t going away quietly.

Next Game

The Avalanche homestead continues as they take on the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday at Ball Arena. Puck drop is at 8 p.m. local time. This game will be televised nationally on TNT/Max.