Craig Smith leads Preds past Avs
Official game summary between Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators.Craig Smith scored two goals and Filip Forsberg had two assists to help the Nashville Predators to a 5-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center on Tuesday.
Pekka Rinne made 28 saves for the Predators (3-5-1), who ended a three-game losing streak (0-2-1) and have gone 1-2-1 in the first four games of a five-game road trip that ends against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.
Jarome Iginla scored and Semyon Varlamov made 31 saves for the Avalanche (4-4-0), who have lost two consecutive home games and four of their past six overall.
Smith and Roman Josi scored 1:09 apart in the third period to give Nashville a 5-1 lead. Smith raced down the left wing to score his second of the game and fourth of the season at 13:18 after Josi scored past a sprawled Varlamov at 12:09.
Ryan Johansen scored his first of the season on a power play at 11:47 of the second period to give the Predators a 3-1 lead. Forsberg took a shot from the right circle that clipped Predators forward James Neal's stick at the left side of the crease. The puck went off Mike Fisher's stick and Johansen flipped it inside the left post.
The Predators sandwiched goals by Smith and Matt Irwin around one by Iginla at 5:35 of the first period to take a 2-1 lead.
Irwin broke a 1-1 tie at 17:47 from the left circle after Forsberg won a faceoff in the right circle. Neal slid a pass across to Irwin, who beat Varlamov for his first goal of the season.
Smith opened the scoring 1:33 into the game. Mike Ribeiro took a shot from above the right circle and Smith deflected it past Varlamov. It was the second time in nine games the Predators scored first.
-- by Rick Sadowski for NHL.com --
Eurolanche.com, Worldwide, eurolanche@eurolanche.com
02/11/2016 - 05:00
