In this season of firsts, add another to the list.
Five different Predators found the back of the net as Nashville defeated the Colorado Avalanche, 5-4, on Saturday afternoon to take a 2-0 series lead in their Round One tilt.
It’s the third time in club history the Predators have gone up 2-0 to start a series, but the first time they’ve done so on their home ice, riding the atmosphere inside of Bridgestone Arena to their second five-goal performance in as many games to start the 2018 postseason.
“You have to play hard, you have to play fast, you have to play for 60 minutes,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “They’re a young, skilled team. I said it after the first game and before the series started, we know what we’re up against. We know we have to compete hard. We thought we did a good job with that.”
Just as they did in Game 1, it was Colorado who struck first with former Predators forward Gabriel Bourque finding twine to give his club a 1-0 lead after one period.
Roughly a minute into the second stanza, Kevin Fiala converted on the power play to get Nashville on the board, before Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen followed to give the Preds their second and third tallies of the afternoon.
Nathan MacKinnon pulled the Avalanche to within one before the middle frame was out, but Austin Watson gave his club a two-goal lead once more at 7:16 of the third period. However, the Preds got into penalty trouble and Gabriel Landeskog converted on a 5-on-3 advantage to pull the Avs back to within one.
Then, with the Colorado net empty, Ryan Hartman potted his first-career postseason goal, and although the Avalanche got one more before the afternoon was through, five goals did the job as Nashville took the first two in the first-round series.
“We always want to go in with the first goal and play with the lead, but just the composure in our group and the confidence knowing we can get the job done is important,” Johansen said. “We’ve been able to do that the first two games.”
The series will now shift to Colorado with Game 3 coming on Monday night, and while the Preds have an opportunity to take a stranglehold on the series, they also know their opponent will be more than energized to back in their home building.
“They’re not just going to give it to us because we finished first in the League,” Watson said. “They’re persistent. There’s no quit in them. Even there at the end they put another one in to get it back to one goal. They’ve got tons of speed and you have to play with that and you have to be hard on them.”
Home Cookin’:
The Preds fought all season long for home-ice advantage in the playoffs. They’ve made the most of it thus far.
Two wins in front of raucous, Gold-clad crowds at Bridgestone Arena have propelled the Predators to a 2-0 series lead over Colorado, exactly what Nashville hoped would happen by beginning the postseason in the Music City.
“It’s a huge advantage for us, playing in our building with the atmosphere we have and we can go out and feed off that and play our game,” Johansen said. “[It’s] definitely great to get some confidence here in the first two games at home. It shows how comfortable we are in our building, finding ways to get two wins to start the series off.”
The Predators know they must use their advantage at home wisely as other buildings in the postseason can be just as hostile – well, maybe not quite at the levels seen in Nashville. Nevertheless, it’s never easy on the road, and two upcoming outings in Denver will provide an early test in the Preds mettle away from home.
“We’re going to have to win at home a lot, and we’re going to have to win some road games too,” Laviolette said. “The big thing is the home ice gives you the extra game. It gives you one more in your building and that extends out to a Game 7 at some point. It’s nice to start here for sure in front of our fans and get the job done. We did what we’re supposed to do, but now we have to go on the road and win some road games along the way.”
Nashville has scored five in each of the two games to start but has had to come from behind in both contests, a habit they’d prefer to shake in Colorado. However, as soon as the Preds get their first, the crowd takes over and the two feed off of each other – a perfect recipe to send yet another opponent home with a postseason defeat.
“It’s what you want to do, that’s why we fought for home ice,” Watson said. “It’s fun playing in this building, it’s tough to come in here as an opposing team. For us to be able to hold up our end of the bargain and get the two wins is great.”
Notes:
Nashville’s lineup remained unchanged from Game 1 with Yannick Weber (upper-body) and Calle Jarnkrok (upper-body) out.
The series now shifts to Colorado with Game 3 between the Predators and Avalanche coming Monday night at Pepsi Center, a 9 p.m. CT puck drop. Game 4 is Wednesday – same time, same place – before a Game 5 back in Nashville on Friday, if necessary.
