Avalanche at Predators
Filip Forsberg etched his name among the Nashville Predators' heavyweights in postseason points, perhaps appropriate since the team is in the midst of a franchise season. After scoring twice in the opener, Forsberg looks to net the Presidents' Trophy-winning Predators their 11th straight victory over the visiting Colorado Avalanche and a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference first-round series on Saturday afternoon.
Forsberg's third-period tallies in Thursday's 5-2 win gave him 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) in his last 12 games overall and 28 (17 goals, 11 assists) in the postseason to match defenseman Shea Weber and David Legwand for the most in franchise history. The 23-year-old Swede has flustered Colorado to the tune of 15 goals and 11 assists in 21 career encounters, but the Avalanche weren't in awe of the high-powered Predators and took it to the top seed en route to seizing a 2-1 lead early in the second period. "I think the first two periods we outplayed them for big parts of it," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "We've got a big one here on Saturday. We're going to try to steal that one and get them back to the Pepsi Center where we're really good." The Avalanche's top line of Mikko Rantanen, potential Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon and captain Gabriel Landeskog were not too good in the opener, however, finishing with a collective minus-6 rating.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, NBC, CNBC, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Pacific, TVAS
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE: Defenseman Nikita Zadorov recorded a career-high seven goals this season and also tallied on Thursday while making his playoff debut. The 22-year-old Russian was not alone as forwards Sven Andrighetto, J.T. Compher, Tyson Jost, Alexander Kerfoot and Rantanen as well defensemen Samuel Girard and David Warsosky also played in their first postseason game. "It's a good way to learn, being in these high-pressure, high-intensity games. Not a ton of playoff experience, but sometimes that is a good thing," said the 32-year-old Blake Comeau, who scored in the second period for his second postseason goal and first since he played for Pittsburgh during its first-round series against the New York Rangers in 2015.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS: Likely Vezina Trophy finalist Pekka Rinne turned aside 25 shots in Game 1 to move past Antti Niemi for the most playoff wins by a goaltender born in Finland. Ryan Johansen notched a pair of assists to boost his point total to 10 (three goals, seven assists) in his past 11 games. Fellow forward Austin Watson joined Colton Sissons by scoring and setting up a goal, giving Watson eight points (five goals, three assists) in his past 15 outings.
OVERTIME
1. Colorado G Jonathan Bernier has permitted 16 goals during his last five outings (1-3-1).
2. Nashville C Craig Smith scored in Game 1, giving him five goals and eight points in his last seven contests.
3. The Avalanche's eighth-ranked power play went 0-for-3 on Thursday after going 7-for-14 in the previous five games.