Predators at Avalanche
The Nashville Predators are looking like a shell of the team that came within one win of reaching the Western Conference finals last season. Mired in last place in the Central Division, the Predators look to halt a three-game skid when they continue a five-game road trip with a visit to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.
Colorado opened the season with five consecutive games against teams that made the postseason in 2015-16 and, after a brief respite, begins another stretch of four straight playoff teams from last season. Matt Duchene scored twice in Saturday's 3-2 win at Arizona to take over the team lead with five goals and seven points. Losers of six of its last seven, Nashville owns the league's No. 1-ranked power play -- and the good news starts and stops there. "It's not going for us right now, but we have to just keep plugging away," Predators captain Mike Fisher said following Saturday's 4-1 loss at San Jose.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Tennessee (Nashville), Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE PREDATORS (2-5-1): Nashville has negated the success of its power play, which has converted on 10 of 28 chances, with woeful penalty killing, allowing the opposition to score on one-third of its opportunities (9 of 27). Another issue bedeviling the Predators is constantly being in catch-up mode, yielding the opening goal in all but one game. "We've got to find a way to come out in these games and score the first goal," coach Peter Laviolette said. "Falling into those holes like that, it's not helping."
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (4-3-0): Rene Bourque, who scored 75 goals in a span of three seasons with Calgary (2008-11), has largely fallen off the NHL radar and found his way onto Colorado's roster via a professional trying in training camp. He made his first goal with the Avalanche count, delivering the go-ahead tally on the power play at Arizona. “I just turned around and the puck was right there,” said Bourque, who has three goals with Columbus last season. "So all I had to do was put it in. I’ll take anything.”
OVERTIME
1. Duchene has nine goals and 23 points in 25 games against Nashville.
2. Predators F Filip Forsberg, a 33-goal scorer last season, is still seeking his first tally.
3. Avalanche D Fedor Tyutin (groin), sidelined for three games, returned to practice Monday while F Gabriel Bourque was sent to the minors.