DENVER — Nathan MacKinnon and Devon Toews scored 22 seconds aside in a five-goal first length, sending the Colorado Avalanche to a 7-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night time in Sport 1 in their first-round playoff collection.
The 5 objectives tied the group playoff file for a length and chased Nashville’s backup goaltender David Rittich from the sport with 4:56 ultimate within the first. Rittich used to be stepping in for 38-game winner Juuse Saros, who is sidelined with a lower-body harm.
Andrew Cogliano, Cale Makar and Artturi Lehkonen additionally scored within the first. Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog constructed the result in 6-0 when he used to be credited for a target in the second one length. He used to be making his go back from knee surgical procedure that had sidelined him since mid-March.
MacKinnon scored his 2nd target of the sport within the 3rd length and, coupled with an help, raised his playoff issues in keeping with sport reasonable to at least one.41. It trails handiest Wayne Gretzky (1.84) and Mario Lemieux (1.61), with no less than 40 video games.
Matt Duchene scored two times for Nashville. Darcy Kuemper completed with 23 saves.
Sport 2 is Thursday, which additionally occurs to be Kuemper’s thirty second birthday.
Since shifting to Denver, the Avalanche boast a 17-6 file in best-of-seven playoff collection after they win the primary sport. At the turn aspect, the Predators are 0-7 when beginning a best-of-seven collection with a street loss.
Colorado scored nearly each approach possible: On an influence play (MacKinnon), short-handed (Cogliano), opposing participant kicking it in (Landeskog were given the credit score for a puck knocked in via defenseman Mark Borowiecki) and, after all, even power (Toews, Makar, Lehkonen and MacKinnon once more).
The Avalanche outshot the Predators via a 45-25 margin.
Issues grew to become chippy after the horn to finish the second one length. Philip Tomasino were given into it with Lehkonen. Shut via, Luke Kunin shoved down Nazem Kadri, who were given a shot in prior to being pulled away.
Within the 3rd length, the sport were given much more chippy with Mathieu Olivier drawing a misconduct penalty.
Cogliano scored his first target for the Avalanche since being received from San Jose on March 21. He took benefit of a Mattias Ekholm turnover with the Predators at the energy play and covered it in thru a small window.
Cogliano later left the sport with an upper-body harm.
The graceful transfer of the sport used to be grew to become in via Makar, who zipped round Tanner Jeannot with a nifty transfer close to the blue line, skated down the left aspect and banked in a shot off the masks of Rittich.
Lehkonen’s rating to make it 5-0 with 4:56 left within the first and put an finish to Rittich’s night time. He used to be changed via Connor Ingram, who had seemed in handiest 3 NHL video games prior to Tuesday. Ingram had 30 saves.
RECORD START
The objectives via MacKinnon and Toews had been within the first 2:42, making it the quickest pair of objectives to start out a playoff sport in Colorado/Quebec franchise historical past. The previous mark belonged to Valeri Kamensky and Peter Forsberg, who scored within the opening 2:54 all through Sport 2 of the 1998 convention quarterfinals, in line with NHL Stats.
MAKAR’S MARK
Makar become the 3rd defenseman in group historical past to file 3 issues in a length all through a playoff sport. He joined Sandis Ozolinsh (April 13, 2000) and Risto Siltanen (April 14, 1987).
HAPPY BIRTHDAY?
On his twenty seventh birthday, Avs ahead Nico Sturm won a troublesome take a look at in the second one length that knocked him down. He needed to be helped off the ice, maintaining his arm, however later returned.
