Game 2: Three keys for the Avalanche

The Avalanche scored five goals in the first 15:04 of Game 1 and dusted Nashville 7-2 at Ball Arena on Tuesday. Here are three keys for Colorado in Thursday’s Game 2:

1. Stop Matt Duchene. The former longtime Avalanche star center had both of Nashville’s goals in Game 1. This guy has had goalie Darcy Kuemper’s number all season. Duchene scored three other times against Colorado in the regular season, including twice against Kuemper in Nashville’s 5-4 overtime win at Bridgestone Arena on Jan.

11. Maybe those “Duchene Sucks” chants fuel Colorado’s 2009 firstround draft pick (No. 3 overall).

2. Forty shots. Two more 17-shot periods will help the Preds realize they can’t control the pace and or their goalies are bound to break.

The Avs had 17 shots in the first and third periods in Game 1 and finished with 45. Reaching 40 shots in Game 2 should be the goal against likely Nashville starter Connor Ingram, the rookie who took over for Game 1 starter David Rittich and played quite well. Ingram allowed just two goals on 32 shots (.938 save percentage). The Avs don’t want to give the 25-year- old any more confidence.

3. Stay in the fight. Nashville is big and tough. The Preds led the NHL in penalty minutes by a wide margin in the regular season and there’s no doubt they’ll continue to play highly physically and try to intimidate the Avs. But Colorado had a good pushback in Game 1 and needs to continue to stay in the fight — while trying to avoid the postwhistle scrums as much as possible. Second-line center Nazem Kadri, who has a history of playoff suspensions, needs to continue to realize he’s a primary target and keep his cool. — Mike Chambers, The Denver Post