The Nashville Predators (11-14-4) had a rough month of November, but in December, they have won three of their four games, and that included a 4-3 shootout win on Tuesday over the Colorado Avalanche (21-2-7). A clutch third-period goal from the Avalanche forced the game into overtime, but Ryan O’Reilly won it for the Predators, moving them up to 26 points on the season.
Game Recap
The first period included the majority of the scoring. Colorado kicked it off, with Brock Nelson showing impressive hands against Juuse Saros at 1:12 in the first.
The Predators responded with two straight goals, one from Jonathan Marchessault on the power play at 4:05 and one from Reid Schaefer at 5:30. Avalanche winger Artturi Lehkonen ended the scoring by tying it with a wrister at 10:21 left in the first.
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After a scoreless second period, the third period started off with a Brady Skjei goal to give the Predators a 3-2 lead. It looked like a sure win for Nashville, but Erik Haula received a two-minute minor for tripping, giving Colorado a power play at 18:22. With eight seconds left in the game and an empty net, they capitalized. Cale Makar shot one from the point, tying it 3-3 and sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, neither team cashed in on good chances, so the game went into a shootout. Ryan O’Reilly started the shootout for Nashville, and he unleashed a beautiful shot that rang the crossbar and went in. After that, it was Saros’ time to shine. He stopped shots from Martin Necas and Valeri Nichushkin. A review was nearly made on whether Filip Forsberg made head-to-head contact with Scott Wedgewood on his shot, but it didn’t matter, as Gabriel Landeskog couldn’t convert his shootout shot against Saros, sealing the 4-3 win for Nashville.
Future Schedule
The Predators are still dead last in the Central Division, but they move past the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference standings. They play the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, Dec. 11 at home before traveling to Colorado to play the Avalanche again on Saturday, Dec. 13.
The Avalanche are still the top team in the NHL, with 49 points, but they missed a golden opportunity to expand that lead. They head back home to play the Florida Panthers (Thursday, Dec. 11) and will look for revenge against the Predators (Saturday, Dec. 13).
