Recap: Colorado falls to Nashville 2-1 in first game back from Four Nations break

Coming off of the Four Nations break, the Colorado Avalanche took on the Nashville Predators on the first half of a back-to-back. And while some rust was to be expected coming off of the break, boy did these guys look like they were coming off an extended layoff at times tonight, as the Avs fell 2-1 to the Nashville Predators.

Let’s break down all the action from tonight.

First Period

While both teams certainly had their own grade-A chances throughout this first period, neither could capitalize ultimately, and we would remain scoreless heading into the second period.

Second Period

Sam Malinski would open the scoring in the second period. He was able to beat Juuse Saros with a one-timer from the top of the circles, off a great drop-pass from Jonathan Drouin, and make it 1-0 for Colorado.

Just 30 seconds or so after Malinski scored, Justin Barron would get one back for the Predators, with some traffic in front of Scott Wedgewood. Barron put this puck on net from the top of the zone, and it found its way past Wedgewood, as there were players camped in front of the net.

Third Period

Nashville would take a 2-1 lead about halfway through this third period. Off of a shot from Luke Schenn, the puck would take a weird bounce off of the boards behind the Avalanche net and go straight to Jonathan Marchessault, who made no mistake and put the puck into the net.

The Avalanche were itching to unleash their dangerous extra attacker unit but Artturi Lehkonen took a four-minute penalty with just over two minutes to go. As such, the game was sealed as a 2-1 victory for Nashville.

Takeaways

As previously said, there was some rust to be expected as this team returned to action, and they sure looked like they were returning from an extended break at times. That’s not to say there wasn’t things to like from this game however, as the effort, and push to tie the game late in the third period, was generally there for Colorado throughout the game. They just weren’t able to get the puck to go, which is how it goes sometimes, unfortunately. Credit where credit’s due to Juuse Saros though, he stood on his head for the Predators tonight. Hopefully the Avs are able to find some more offense tomorrow night against the Blues to split even on this back-to-back.

Upcoming

Colorado heads to St. Louis to take on the Blues tomorrow on the second half of a back-to-back. The puck will drop at 4:00 p.m. MT.