Preds’ streak continues with OT win in Denver
DENVER — Nashville pulled off another comeback victory to remain the NHL’s hottest team.
Filip Forsberg scored at 1:07 of overtime, and the Predators matched the franchise record with their eighth straight victory by beating the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 Sunday. They completed a 4-0 trip, winning the last two in overtime.
“We’ve proven to ourselves that we can come back,” Forsberg said. “Getting four out of four wins on the road is ridiculous right now. But at the same time, we can’t get too high. We have to keep grinding and winning the games.”
Nashville’s Ryan Ellis tied it with 1:06 left in regulation with Predators goalie Pekka Rinne off the ice in favor of an extra attacker.
“It’s six-on-five, where we talk about getting pucks to the net,” Ellis said. “I had one shot that got stopped by the goalie, and the next shot we had traffic in front of him and it got in.”
The Predators carried the momentum into overtime, when Forsberg charged down the ice and put in the winner with a shot from the side that got past goalie Semyon Varlamov.
“The confidence level of our team is really high,” Rinne said. “It shows our character, knowing there is no giving up.”
Nathan MacKinnon helped set up Colorado’s first lead of the game with a cross-ice pass to Mikko Rantanen, whose one-timer from the right circle beat Rinne with 5:38 left in the third period.
Colorado tied it at 2 with 4:38 remaining in the third when Matt Nieto, at the end of a rush, wristed a shot that Rinne managed to deflect. But the puck stayed around the goal, and as Predators winger Kevin Fiala tried to corral the rebound, his stick nudged the puck into the net.
Kyle Turris scored on a power play with 8:08 left in the second to put the Predators in front. Turris gathered in a pass from Ellis and wristed a shot from the left circle. The puck went off the glove of goalie Semyon Varlamov before going into the net.
Nikita Zadarov had just left the penalty box and skated onto the ice after the Avalanche had killed off his high-sticking infraction. Carl Soderberg picked up a loose puck near the blue line, spotted Zadarov alone along the boards and sent a lead pass to him to ignite a breakaway. Zadarov pulled up at the top of the left circle and unleashed a slap shot that beat Rinne with 12:57 left in the first to even the score.
Nashville broke on top 3:09 into the game when Austin Watson let fly a shot from the slot that glanced off defenseman Anton Lindholm’s jersey before going into the net.