{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
Nashville 4, Colorado 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Referees: Tom Chmielewski, Chris Rooney
Linesmen: Devin Berg, David Brisebois
Attendance: 17113

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The power play has been pretty powerful for the Nashville Predators.

For the fifth time in its first six games, Nashville scored on the man advantage, this one snapping a second period tie and lifting it to a 4-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night in Bridgestone Arena.

Captain Roman Josi, in his return from a three-game absence with a lower-body injury, converted on a five-on-three at 13:30 for a 2-1 advantage. He poked home a rebound from just below the right circle for his first goal of the season.

It was the Predators' eighth power-play goal of the season and their fourth with either a two or three-man advantage.

"It can be a big momentum swing either way if you score there or they kill it off," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "We had killed a few (penalties) at that point, so it was a big opportunity."

That the Predators (3-2-1) would score at some point on the power play was a given, particularly against Colorado (4-3-0). While the Avalanche are enjoying a surprisingly strong start, their one weakness has been penalty killing.

They entered the night 29th in that department at just 73.1 percent and ceded their eighth power play goa of the season to Josi. This one kept the momentum rolling downhill for Nashville, which dominated most of the last two periods after Colorado earned a slight territorial edge in the first 20 minutes.

The Avalanche initiated scoring at 4:09 of the second period with a fluky man-advantage goal. Nathan MacKinnon's centering pass from the left circle struck Josi's skate and skittered by Pekka Rinne for MacKinnon's first goal.

Colorado's lead didn't even last three minutes. A failed pinch by Eric Johnson on Alexei Emelin's chip pass out of the defensive zone handed the Predators a four-on-one. Filip Forsberg fed Viktor Arvidsson and he beat Semyon Varlamov with a backhander for his third goal.

After Josi's tiebreaker, Colton Sissons made it 3-1 at 19:15 during four-on-four action. Craig Smith teed him up in the slot and Sissons slipped a backhander through Varlamov's legs for his first goal, picking up a charging penalty as he did so.

The Avalanche couldn't take advantage of their power play action and Nashville ended the game's competitive phase at 4:08 of the third period. Austin Watson slammed home the rebound of Emelin's slapper into a half-empty net from the right circle for his first goal.

"I feel like the second and third period we got better," Arvidsson said. "We know they're a fast team and they feed off turnovers, so we tried to take care of the puck."

The final numbers were as lopsided as the last two periods looked. The Predators outshot Colorado 34-21, outhit it 23-10 and owned a 35-19 advantage on faceoffs. It added up to Nashville's seventh straight win over the Avalanche dating to April 2016.

In winning four of its first five games, Colorado used its team speed while receiving solid play in the net from Varlamov and backup Jonathan Bernier. Coach Jared Bednar hasn't seen that identity surface since a 3-1 win on Friday night over Anaheim.

"First five games, it was really good," Bednar said. "We were a hard-working group, we were really good. Last couple of games, I feel like it's slacked off a little, so we'll address that tomorrow at practice."

Varlamov (3-2-0), who entered with a save percentage of .944 and a 1.76 goals-against average, stopped 30 shots. Rinne (3-1-1) made 20 saves to continue his good work in the last three games, in which he has permitted only four goals on 85 shots.

The Predators have picked up points in four consecutive games after dropping their first two, looking more like the team that put it all together last spring during its run to the Stanley Cup Finals.

"We're a confident group now," Sissons said. "We've picked up points in every game over the last week, so we're feeling good."

NOTES: Colorado C Tyson Jost (knee) returned to the lineup after missing the last two games. ... Nashville placed D Yannick Weber on IR and recalled C Frederick Gaudreau from its AHL affiliate in Milwaukee. Weber was injured Thursday night by a hit to the head from Dallas' Martin Hanzal ... The Avalanche scratched D Patrik Nemeth (shoulder), LW Matt Nieto and D Andrei Mironov. ... Predators scratches were C Nick Bonino (ankle), RW Miikka Salomaki and D Samuel Girard.
Top Game Performances
 
Colorado   Nashville
Nathan MacKinnon 1 Points Viktor Arvidsson 2
Nathan MacKinnon 1 Goals Viktor Arvidsson 1
Tyson Barrie 1 Assists Alexei Emelin 2
Nathan MacKinnon 1 Power Play Goals Roman Josi 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Semyon Varlamov .882 Save Percentage Pekka Rinne .952
Semyon Varlamov 30 Saves Pekka Rinne 20
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Colorado 21 1 1-6 4-5 12 19
Nashville 34 4 1-5 5-6 12 35
Upcoming Games
  • Nashville will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Predators have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Colorado will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .500 after a loss.