Frustrated Avs open up on letting one get away

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -It was right there for the Avalanche. A team that probably took them a bit lightly, not to mention that team’s evangelical fans who had partied themselves hardy before the first puck had dropped, was ripe to be upset by the Avs in Game 1 Thursday night.

A 1-0 lead was about to become 2-0. The libated crowd was about to sober up real quick-like. The Avs had the Nashville Predators right where they wanted ’em, tied entering the third period, with the home team quite fortunate to be in that position. Game 1 was right there, waiting to be stolen. But instead of larceny, the Avs committed an act of charity. Now, the Predators might be sufficiently woke to not let this kind of thing happen again, at least not in Game 2 Saturday.

Genuine opportunity was lost Thursday night here at Bridgestone Arena, not just a hockey game. The Avs could have silenced half of Tennessee, but instead had to listen to the worst song of all time be played three straight times in the third period. That’s the Tim McGraw tune “I like it, I love it” that’s played every time the Preds score a goal.

“Two-two going into the third is a good spot,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog told BSN Denver. “They get a bounce on the third one and did a good job on their fourth one. We played hard. We took it to ’em the first couple periods and had some real good shifts down there. (Pekka) Rinne made some big saves. A couple mistakes that they capitalized one. But I liked what I saw and we’re just going to reset and get right back at it.”

A few of the missed opportunities in this one, any one of which could have propelled the Avs to victory had things bounced a different way:

• The Avs had a 5-on-3 power-play advantage for 19 seconds with 1:41 left in the first period, up 1-0 on Nikita Zadorov’s early goal. Nathan MacKinnon did what he wanted to on the faceoff, which was win it back to the point. But he did it right up the middle of the ice and out of the zone, and the precious two-man advantage never got a chance to really be utilized.
• J.T. Compher put a quick turnaround shot on Rinne from the right circle early in the second. The puck got behind Rinne and was wobbling into the net when it was rescued just in time by teammates. The Preds’ Austin Watson scored on the ensuing counterattack down the ice. A 2-0 game, and what figured to be a jittery, worried crowd instead turned into a tie game just like that.
• After the Preds tied the game 2-2 at 8:50 of the second, following an iffy slashing call on Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen came in alone on Rinne. He had him beat, only having to lift a shot into the left side of an open net. But he shot the puck too low and Rinne got a toe on it. A 3-2 game entering the third instead stayed tied 2-2.

The Predators did what a good team is supposed to do from there. They realized their good fortune and outplayed Colorado pretty solidly in the third. But the Avs had ’em. They just didn’t take advantage of it when opportunity knocked.

“We missed on a couple real good opportunities,” Jared Bednar said. “We had some guys who had some real good looks, and they missed on those chances. We played hard and we’ll make some corrections to our game, and we’ll look through it and be better for it.”

But you have to worry that the Avs missed on their real chance to make this a frightening series for the Preds. Nashville doesn’t figure to come out as slow and sloppy as it was in the first period in Game 2. They’ll make corrections to their game too. But they are up 1-0 now. They get to come away from this one thinking “We didn’t play all that well, but still won 5-2.”

Hey, maybe that will make them be complacent Saturday. The Avs can only hope. But right now, they’re kicking themselves for letting one slip away.

“We were in a good position,” defenseman Mark Barberio said. “But it’s one game. They didn’t win the series tonight. It’ll be a huge game on Saturday.”

OTHER NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

• Barberio was mad at himself, especially, for failing to clear the puck out of the zone right before Nashville tied it 2-2 on the power play in the second. “It was a play I’ve done a thousand times. I was going to clear it and it rolled off my blade, right to their guy,” Barberio said. “They made a quick play to finish it off, but it’s my job to bear down and make sure that puck gets down the ice.”
• I thought the Avs were way too fancy on their power-play opportunities. They’re at their best on the PP when they just make quick decisions and fire away. That leads to rebounds and guys having to react to their speed, often too late. They let the Preds get in the shooting lane too easily with their hesitancy.
• Sam Girard was tremendous in the first two periods and pretty much overall. But he was beaten on Filip Forsberg’s highlight-reel goal that put the game away in the third, which casual fans will probably judge him unfairly on. He was very good.
• Jonathan Bernier, let’s face it, wasn’t very good. He needs to be better and he knows it probably. The Avs had a very short open-to-the-media locker room afterward, and wasn’t available for comment.
• MacKinnon had some real good chances in this one, but he just didn’t convert. If he continues to get the kinds of looks he got in this one, he’ll get some to go in eventually.
• The Avs’ second, or third line if you prefer, of Sven Andrighetto, Alexander Kerfoot and Tyson Jost, had a quiet night. The Preds’ size advantage over them and the Avs in general makes it a tough matchup for them.
• Avs practice at noon Friday in Nashville.