Predators Lose Special Teams Battle to Avalanche in High-Scoring Affair

Nashville struggled to stay out of the box after losing key penalty killer Ryan McDonagh to a match penalty in the second period.

For the first time in over a month, the Nashville Predators have lost two consecutive games.

Facing a Colorado Avalanche team that entered the game with a 9-1-1 record in their past 11 games and the best home record in the NHL (28-7-1), the Predators couldn't afford to put forth anything short of their best effort. However, their failure to stay out of the penalty box and the loss of their top penalty killer became their downfall as they fell to the Avalanche, 7-4, at Ball Arena on Saturday.

At first, things looked promising for Nashville. The Predators jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. They were up 3-1 over halfway through the first frame. They chased Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev with their fourth goal early in the second period. The game swiftly changed course early in the second period, however, when defenseman Ryan McDonagh was assessed a match penalty for an illegal check to the head on Colorado's Ross Colton.

McDonagh was initially assessed a five-minute major for the hit. It was upgraded to a match penalty following an official review, ending his night at 3:11 of the second period and giving Colorado a five-minute man advantage.

"He's the kind of guy you can't replace with just one human," Predators assistant coach Dan Hinote told Bally Sports South's Lyndsay Rowley during the game broadcast. "So, it's going to have to be a collective effort from the rest of our low forwards in the D-zone and the rest of our D-men because he eats up a lot of minutes, he eats up a lot of shots, he's great on the kill, great on the power play – that's a hard guy to replace."

McDonagh is the Predators' top penalty killer, averaging a team-high 2:54 of ice time per game while shorthanded. Roman Josi, who was pressed into duty on the penalty kill in McDonagh's absence, racked up nearly three minutes of shorthanded ice time – six times his average of 0:29 per game.

"In a sense, it's good because our guys are going to get a little action in places maybe they wouldn't prior to [the playoffs]," Hinote said. "It's good to get that experience. But to replace [McDonagh], it's going to take a group effort."

Ultimately, that effort fell short. The Predators spent so much time on the penalty kill that they didn't have a chance to gain any momentum on offense. The Avalanche, who have the seventh-best power play in the league, scored three times against Nashville on the man advantage, including a tally from Artturi Lehkonen that cut the Predators' lead to 4-3 during Colorado's five-minute man advantage resulting from the McDonagh penalty.

With the win, the Avalanche clinched their seventh straight Stanley Cup Playoff appearance. Nashville trails the Winnipeg Jets by four points for third place in the Central Division and holds a three-point lead over the Los Angeles Kings for the top Wild Card spot in the West.