Short-handed Avs give Predators all they can handle, but fall short again in Game 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Avalanche can play with the Nashville Predators. That much we know after the first two games of a playoff series.

They just can’t win.

Nashville won 5-4 in Game 2 Sunday afternoon, to take a 2-0 lead in the series. The Predators have now won the last 12 – count ’em, twelve – games against the Avalanche.

For the second straight game, the Avs held a 1-0 lead after the first period. Gabriel Bourque scored at 2:34, a nice shot over the shoulder of former teammate Pekka Rinne. The Avs outshot the Preds 11-9 and looked good overall.

Then the second period happened. Kevin Fiala, Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen scored successive goals for a 3-1 Preds advantage. The first goal, by Fiala, deflected in off the skate of Avs D-man Patrik Nemeth. It came with 10 seconds left on a power play that started late in the first, when Gabe Landeskog (who had a bad first two games) was called for tripping.

Johansen’s goal was a killer. It came on the rush back up the ice after Tyson Barrie had his feet taken out from under him by a sliding tackle by P.K. Subban, on a scoring bid in close. The play went the other way and Johansen beat Jonathan Bernier on the backhand.

Nathan MacKinnon cut the deficit to 3-2 with a great backhander past Rinne off the rush at 17:08, but the Preds upped the lead to 4-2 again in the third. MacKinnon got one back with a goal on a 5-on-3 advantage, and the Avs had some chances to tie it from there, including a power play for a remaining 1:10 on the second part of the 5-on-3.

The Avs just couldn’t get that equalizer, though. The Preds got an empty-netter with 1:08 left from Ryan Hartman.

The Avs got one back with 35.8 seconds left, a tip by Alexander Kerfoot. Too little, too late.

Game 3 is Monday night in Denver.

“They got the momentum on their power play,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “But you have to give them credit. They skate hard and they take away options. But if we clean up a couple of mistakes, we win that hockey game.”