Avalanche take 3-0 series lead over Preds with 7-3 win
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gabriel Landeskog scored twice within the second interval, and the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche beat the Nashville Predators 7-3 Saturday for a commanding 3-0 lead of their first-round Western Convention sequence.
Landeskog additionally had two assists. Nazem Kadri and Devon Toews every added a objective and an help, and Artturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon scored a power-play objective apiece as Colorado went 4 for five on the person benefit to push Nashville to the brink of elimination. Cale Makar had three assists.
Valeri Nichushkin added an empty-net objective with 2:46 left. The Avs had a pair missed alternatives as soon as Nashville pulled goalie Connor Ingram with greater than 4 minutes remaining.
Avalanche goalie Darcy Kuemper was harm with a minute left within the first interval. Pavel Francouz changed him and made 20 saves in his seventh playoff look of his profession.
Matt Duchene, Eeli Tolvanen and captain Roman Josi every scored objectives for Nashville. Alexandre Carrier had two assists.
That is the primary time the Predators have trailed 0-3 in a sequence, and they’ll attempt to keep away from being swept for the primary time of their 15 playoff appearances in Recreation 4 on Monday night time.
Colorado has merely dominated the Predators, outscoring them 16-6 with a 137-81 distinction in photographs by means of the primary three video games.
Lehkonen received the Avs on the board first but once more halfway by means of the primary on yet one more Nashville penalty, deflecting a slap shot by Toews. MacKinnon made it 2-0 just 21 seconds into the Avs’ subsequent man benefit at 16:07.
Duchene received Nashville on the board, scoring on a wrister at 17:37. Then Predators middle Ryan Johansen’s stick caught Kuemper’s face, and Francouz changed him in internet.
The Predators managed to attain twice on the person benefit within the second with Tolvanen scoring from the dot within the left face-off circle at 5:41. Landeskog beat Ingram with a backhander on the person benefit halfway by means of the second for a 3-2 lead, then Josi tied it with a slap shot from the blue line at 12:11.
Landeskog scored his second at 14:02 to place Colorado forward to remain.
The Avs received one other man benefit when Nashville misplaced its problem of Landeskog’s objective for Lehkonen interfering with Ingram after Predators ahead Mikael Granlund blamed for the contact. When Ingram performed the puck behind the web, misplaced the puck and Kadri scored into the open net simply 39 seconds later for a 5-3 lead.
Toews padded the lead with a shot from the highest of the left circle halfway by means of the third.
KUEMPER HURT
The Avalanche goalie was hurt with 56.6 seconds left within the first interval when Johansen’s stick caught him by means of the masks. Kuemper yanked the masks off and was down on the ice holding his head earlier than skating to the locker room holding a towel to his face. He was 37-12-4 for Colorado throughout the common season and received the primary two video games of this sequence.
ROOKIE GOALIE
Ingram turned the primary rookie in Nashville historical past to start out a playoff sport in Recreation 2’s extra time loss on Thursday night time. His 49 saves tied for many by a goalie in his first postseason begin within the final 10 years and tied for the fourth-most saves by a Predators goalie in franchise historical past within the playoffs. Ingram stopped 79 of 83 photographs confronted over the primary two video games of this sequence after coming off the bench.
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Teresa M. Walker, The Related Press
