The Nashville Predators opened their West Coast road trip Friday with an assertive 7-3 win against the league-leading Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. It is the first regulation loss at home for Colorado this season according to NHL PR.
Ryan O'Reilly scored a hat-trick and four points, Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg both tallied three points, and Juuse Saros saved 39 of 42 shots faced.
"To give that team their first regulation loss here is something to be proud of. We can compete and play with any team, beat any team in this league when we're all working together."Ryan O'Reilly, Predators YT
The Predators (23-20-4) recorded three shots on goal in the opening 30 seconds with the third, coming from O'Reilly, hitting the back of the net.
The Avalanche (33-5-8) responded nearly a minute later at 18:36 after Brock Nelson tipped a shot from Brent Burns, sliding it past Juuse Saros for his 23rd goal of the season.
O'Reilly tucked his second of the night at 12:28 after his original play, a pass intended for Luke Evangelista, was redirected by Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard into the net of goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.
Nelson tied the game at two apiece at 8:44 on another tip from the blueline, this time coming from Josh Manson. Both O'Reilly and Nelson had scored the only goals for their respective teams at the end of the first.
Both teams went scoreless in the second period until O'Reilly scored his third of the game at 6:59 after he tipped a shot from Evangelista.
"He does everything. He's first out the door on the penalty kill. He's taking all the big faceoffs and clearly producing well. Leads a team in points and then big game for him against his old team. It's fun to watch."Filip Forsberg, Predators YT
Nashville extended their lead at 1:56 with a goal on a breakaway from Michael Bunting. The Predators walked into second intermission with a 4-2 lead as they braced for a tough battle ahead in the third period.
Just as they prepared for, Colorado came into the third with a lot of offensive pressure which ultimately presented Martin Necas with a prime scoring opportunity in between the faceoff circles, putting the score within one at 18:51.
12 minutes of scoreless hockey went by and at 6:05, the Avalanche took an interference call after a hit on Erik Haula. Now with their first power play opportunity of the game, the Predators looked for ways to extend their lead by two once again.
At 4:47, Forsberg found a scoring lane and promptly shot the puck past Blackwood to push the score to 5-3.
Stamkos capitalized on an empty net at 2:56 after Colorado Head Coach Jared Bednar pulled Blackwood for the extra attacker.
Nashville found themselves shorthanded, four players to six, after a slashing call on Cole Smith. That didn't stop Michael McCarron from scoring the game-winning goal on an empty net at 2:19, setting the final score at 7-3.
"There was up and down moments in that first half of the game, but I thought our guys came out and played a real solid team effort in the third period. Really driven and wanted to show not just ourselves, but everybody else in the hockey world that where our team has come from the beginning of the year, and it's a long way."Luke Richardson, Predators YT
Saros is now tied for second league-wide in wins with 19. With his four-point performance, O'Reilly has 43 points this season.
The Predators remain in the wildcard race as they're still one point out of the West's second wildcard spot. They'll have a chance to enter if they win tonight as they face the Vegas Golden Knights (23-11-12) at T-Mobile Arena.