Tyson Jost scored a power play goal at 5:07 of the third period to give the Colorado Avalanche a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish to defeat the Predators by the same score in Nashville.
“I think it’s fun when the team is winning and you’re putting up points like that,” Jost said. “It’s fun when you’re climbing the standings. That’s all I’m really concerned about.”
Nathan MacKinnon had goals in the first and second period for the Avs.
Nathan MacKinnon had two strikes in win over Predators Tuesday night – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“We haven’t won here much in my career,” MacKinnon said. “We always seem to struggle against these guys for whatever reason. They’re a really good team. I think we’re not the only team that has a tough time winning in this building. But I thought from the drop of the puck we were really good tonight. We outplayed them there for most of the game, and it felt good to get the win.”
The Avs have won five straight and improved to 14-6-4; Colorado is now 7-0-1 in their eight games.
“It’s big because we’ve had our struggles with Nashville, and if we want to try and climb the standings, then there’s a couple of these teams that we’ve had trouble with that we need to beat,” Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said. “Nashville is one of them. We did a nice job against them in the [2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs] getting some wins in here. I really liked our game tonight.”
Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves to get the road win.
“We just kept sticking with it. Special teams were great tonight. [Avalanche assistants Ray Bennett and Nolan Pratt] had those guys dialed in. Both were perfect on the night, and it ends up being the difference in the hockey game,” Bednar said.
Ryan Hartman and Kevin Fiala had the Preds’ goals.
“Both teams had chances,” Fiala said. “We had great chances in the last period, especially, I thought. It’s one of those games.”
Nashville dropped to 17-7-1.
[WATCH:Â All Avalanche vs. Predators highlights]
Pekka Rinne made 22 saves in the loss.
“You prepare yourself. You look at their players, they have a lot of talent. Right now, their top line (Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen) has been from the beginning of the season the top line in the NHL. You’ve got to prepare for those guys. They make things happen out of nowhere. Like tonight, MacKinnon was good. At the same time, for example, the first goal I wish I could have back.” Rinne said after the game.
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