When Game One got underway in Nashville, it looked for a while like the Predators’ march back to the Stanley Cup Finals would be a lot harder than their fans had hoped. Nikita Zadorov put the puck past Pekka Rinne on Colorado’s first shot of the series, and it could easily have been 2-0 or 3-0 by the end of the first period, but Rinne made a couple of mad stops to keep things at just 1-0. It wasn’t until the second period that Nashville would tie the score. Colorado would score again to take a 2-1 lead, and it wasn’t until a Nashville power play that the Predators would get the equalizer. Rinne stood on his head for the rest of the second period, but the game was still tied at 2-2 going into the second intermission. The Predators erupted, finally, in the third period, with a pair of goals from Filip Forsberg (including a highlight-reel tally) and an empty-netter to win 5-2. Can the Predators do it again on Saturday? Will it be as hard to get started? Check out our NHL betting preview for this Western Conference matchup.
Avalanche at Predators NHL Betting Preview & Game 2 Pick
When: Saturday, April 14, 2018, 3:00pm ETWhere: Bridgestone Arena, NashvilleTV: NBCRadio: Altitude Sports 950 AM Denver / WPRT 102.5 FM The Game NashvilleLive Stream: NHL.tvNHL Odds: Predators -1.5
Why should you bet on the Avalanche?
Colorado’s speed is what got them into the postseason, and it almost got them a road win in Game One of this series — until Nashville’s offense woke up and Filip Forsberg made the Avs pay on two occasions for defensive lapses. Jonathan Bernier was solid in goal for most of the first two periods, although the first goal that he permitted, on an odd angle from Austin Watson, tied the game early in the second period and allowed Nashville to exhale. If Pekka Rinne hadn’t had such a solid first two periods, the Avalanche could have had four or five goals going into the last period.
The good news for Colorado is that they outplayed the defending Western Conference champions for the first 40 minutes of the game. The fact that they didn’t have the lead at the end of those 40 minutes could be disheartening, but Rinne proved himself to be an elite playoff goaltender for Nashville last year and appears to be right back in that same groove again. If you like Colorado to win in Game Two, you seem them applying that same sort of speed and pressure from the game’s first puck drop — and different results coming as far as Colorado scoring more goals.
Why should you put your money on the Predators?
Nashville has a considerable advantage over Colorado as far as speed and offensive movement go. In the first half of the game, Colorado did a solid job of pressing the middle of the ice, keeping cross passes from making it through and stifling Nashville’s approach. It’s just about impossible to keep the screws down on that sort of approach for an entire game, though, and once things opened up, that speed turned to Nashville’s advantage. They were able to intensify their attack in the second half of the second third period and then into the third period, which is how Forsberg was able to find space to knock home a deflection from Roman Josi’s shot to take the 3-2 lead.
It’s also important to remember that Nashville is one of the few places where home ice really seems to provide an advantage. There may not be a louder building in the league, and the atmosphere gets even more raucous during the postseason. Nashville was able to win this game despite taking a couple of unwise penalties, and while Rinne had just 25 saves, about half of them were pure larceny. If the Preds can start this poorly for the first 30 minutes of a game and still win going away, this could be a short series.
Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction
I like Colorado’s speed and ability to apply pressure, but Nashville solving them in the third period seemed to dissipate a high pressure front that had built in the arena. I think Colorado makes Game Two interesting again, but I predict a 3-2 Nashville win.
