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“Hold My Beer”: Avalanche Get Run Out of Nashville in Embarrassing 6-2 Loss
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- “Hold My Beer”: Avalanche Get Run Out of Nashville in Embarrassing 6-2 Loss
When the Colorado Avalanche dropped two straight games on their previous road trip, head coach Jared Bednar called them "two of the worst games I've seen our team play in years."You might as well have billed Sunday's game in Nashville as "Hold My Beer."
The Avalanche turned in a putrid effort from start to finish, getting hammered 6-2 by the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. Colorado was sloppy with the puck, undisciplined, and completely ineffective on special teams, allowing four power-play goals while failing to record a single shot on net during three of its four power plays.
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Former Av Ryan O'Reilly scored twice, Filip Forsberg added his 21st career goal against Colorado, and Steven Stamkos found the net twice as Nashville took full advantage of the Avs' mistakes.
Artturi Lehkonen and Devon Toews scored for Colorado, but their goals did little to change the story of the night. Justus Annunen, who was traded to Nashville for Scott Wedgewood, stopped 17 of 19 shots to earn the win, while Wedgewood made 28 saves on 34 shots for the Avalanche. It was a rough night all around for Colorado, which never really looked in control.
First Period
The Predators came out flying, putting Colorado on its heels early and taking a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
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Filip Forsberg opened the scoring on the power play after Parker Kelly was called for hooking. It was Forsberg's 21st career goal against the Avalanche, and he made it count by giving Nashville an early lead.
Steven Stamkos doubled the advantage on a close play that needed a video review to confirm the puck had crossed the goal line. Just like that, Colorado was down two before it could find much of a rhythm.
The Avalanche's top line of Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Martin Necas generated some pressure late in the period, but couldn't get the bounces they needed. Colorado managed just eight shots in the opening frame, four of them from Lehkonen.
The bigger problem was how the Avs were getting in their own way. Misfired passes, careless turnovers, and sloppy puck management made it tough to build any sustained offense. It was the kind of road period that leaves a team chasing the game before it's even had a chance to settle in.
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Second Period
If Colorado was hoping to reset in the second, that plan didn't last long.
Bad clears, miscommunication, and turnovers continued to give Nashville chances, including a few odd-man rushes that forced Scott Wedgewood to bail out his teammates. He came up with several saves, including one against Brent Burns, who was playing in his 1,019th consecutive NHL game at age 41.
The Avalanche couldn't get much going on their own power play, either. They failed to register a shot on one man advantage, and Sam Malinski was later called for too many men on the ice, adding another mistake to an already frustrating night.
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Things got chippy when Necas tangled with Jordan Struble after the Predators defenseman jabbed at him following a whistle. Necas responded with a slash, and the two started mixing it up along the boards before captain Gabriel Landeskog joined the scrum. Necas and Struble were sent off for roughing, while Malinski's penalty left Colorado shorthanded.
Nashville made the most of it. O'Reilly was left alone in the low slot and buried the puck to make it 3-0, giving the Predators their second power-play goal of the night.
The Avs had a chance to respond when Roman Josi was called for slashing MacKinnon, but Colorado couldn't get anything going and remained scoreless on its first three power plays. Parker Kelly later dropped the gloves with Struble and quickly took him down, providing one of the few moments of fight from Colorado on a night when the scoreboard was getting ugly.
After an exhausting shift that left the Avalanche scrambling, former Av Jack Drury — dealt away in the offseason — beat Wedgewood with a backhand to push Nashville's lead to 4-0.
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Colorado was already struggling to keep up, and the penalties kept coming. Brock Nelson was called for interference, and another breakdown in the defensive zone gave O'Reilly room to strike again on the power play. His second goal of the night made it 5-1 and marked Nashville's third power-play goal.
At this point, the Avalanche looked like Survivor contestants caught in a hurricane, scrambling to stay afloat while the Predators kept piling on.
Lehkonen finally got Colorado on the board, continuing his hot stretch with his 10th goal in 12 games. It gave the Avs a little life, but Nashville still had control of the game heading into the third.
Third Period
Colorado finally managed to record a shot on the power play after O'Reilly was called for hhooking. Moments later, Nazem Kadri was penalized for tripping Adam Wilsby, but the Avalanche found the net anyway.
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Malinski threaded a pass to Devon Toews, whose shot hit the post and bounced past Annunen. The goal cut Nashville's lead to 5-2 and briefly gave Colorado something to build on.
Any momentum didn't last long.
Brent Burns and Logan O'Connor took consecutive penalties, putting the Avalanche in a difficult spot once again. Colorado's parade to the penalty box had reached eight minor penalties, and Nashville was handed a five-on-three power play.
Wedgewood took a shot off his mask and struggled to get back into position. Stamkos was waiting with an open net and made no mistake, scoring his second goal of the night to restore Nashville's four-goal cushion at 6-2.
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That was effectively the end of it. The Avalanche had no answer for Nashville's power play, couldn't clean up the mistakes that kept putting them in trouble, and never found a way to make the game competitive.
The Avalanche gave up four power-play goals, took eight minor penalties, and spent most of the night chasing the game. If Bednar thought the last two road games were among the worst he'd seen in years, Sunday's showing in Nashville gave him another one to consider.
