Colorado Avalanche Topple Nashville Predators: Thoughts

The Colorado Avalanche played the Nashville Predators last night in an important division game, and they came away with a 5-3 victory.

That was another exciting division contest for the Colorado Avalanche, following a 4-3 OT victory against the St. Louis Blues. More importantly, the Colorado Avalanche tied the Predators at 45 points, and have a real shot of making the playoffs now.

Currently, the Avalanche still inhabit the 6th spot in the Central Division, but that’s only because the Preds have a game in hand.

The Avalanche own the ROW (regulations or overtime wins) column, and — at this point — would take the playoff spot if the season ended now.

Furthermore, they are now 9-2-2 in their last 13 games, and have a sparkling 9-2-1 record against the Central Division.

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This team is starting to catch fire, and hopefully it’s not just a streaky thing, but a representation of what this team is capable of when everyone on the roster gels.

Anyway, here’s how it broke down.

First Period

Well, Ryan Johansen paid immediate dividends for the Nashville Predators after being acquired in a one for one trade on Thursday. He scored the first goal for the Predators on a beautiful shot, it’s got to be shown for how well placed it was:

I mean, that’s just a snipe, and Semyon Varlamov could have done nothing about it. Perfect placement, and the Predators have a lot to be happy about with the trade now.

However, goals by Jarome Iginla and Cody Mcleod would give the Avs a 2-1 lead heading into the second period.

Both goals were scrappy-in-front-of-the-net type of goals, so there’s really no way to articulate them in words. Here they are for your viewing pleasure:

There’s Iggy’s, and here’s Cody Mcleod’s on a spectacular pass by Jack Skille:

Jack Skille might be making a case for himself as the best signing for the Colorado Avalanche this offseason. He provides depth on the 4th line, and now our that line is a formidable threat with Mcleod and John Mitchell.

The Colorado Avalanche were outscored in the second period once again, but they at least notched a goal themselves, so the score stayed tied going into the third. Here’s how it shook out.

Second Period

Ryan Ellis scored the opening goal for the Nashville Predators, and tied the game relatively early — just 2:45 into the second frame. It was a snipe of a shot akin to that of Tyson Barrie, but we’ll get to that later.

Nonetheless, it didn’t take long for the Colorado Avalanche to even the score as they got a two on one a little less than five minutes later, and Gabe Landeskog was able to finish with a goal that was hard fought.

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However, Nashville was playing well, and Varly had a shaky second period, which allowed the Predators to stick around because the Avs played a strong defensive game last night.

Anyway, nearing the end of the second period, Filip Forsberg was able to rip a wrister from the slot passed Semyon Varlamov, and the score went into the third period tied 3-3. I was nervous.

Third Period

The Colorado Avalanche played a strong third period, limiting the Preds to just 5 shots on net, while they put 8 toward the net themselves and came away with the victory.

It was a hard fought battle nonetheless, and it took 11 minutes for the Colorado Avalanche to break the tie in the final frame. The scorer was none other then current scorching-on-fire-defenseman, Tyson Barrie.

He now has 6 points in his last 3 games, and is nipping at the heels of the top-3 scorers from the team with 29 points on the season in just 38 games.

For your edification my fellow Avalanche fans:

That was a great pass by Nick Holden, and Barrie ripped a singer that didn’t stop the vocals until it hit twine. I love his play recently, and hopefully this continues throughout the second half of the year.

That turned out to be the game-winner, and Jack Skille would add another empty net goal in the final seconds just for good measure.

What’s on Tap

The Colorado Avalanche play the Chicago Blackhawks in the United Center on Sunday before returning home for two more contests against the Tampa Bay Lightning (*cough* Jonathan Drouin) and New Jersey Devils.

Tyson Barrie is a Blackhawks killer, and he’ll be looking to continue his scoring streak against a hot Chicago team that has won their last six games.

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Winning against the division is how clubs make the playoffs, and the Colorado Avalanche have proved that they can do that this year. Hopefully they’ll continue their winning ways against the Central on Sunday, and end a good streak for the Hawks.

Let me hear it Avs fans, what do you think of last night’s contest? Will Tyson Barrie keep his streak going against the Hawks? Will the Avalanche keep these winning ways going? Let us know in the comments!