Samuel Girard scores in overtime to help Avalanche beat Predators

Jared Bednar has asked his defensemen, not named Cale Makar, to get more involved offensively.

He got his wish on Monday evening. Samuel Girard and Devon Toews both scored their first goals of the season in a 3-2 overtime win against the Nashville Predators at Ball Arena. Sam Malinski also added his first of the season in a win against the Carolina Hurricanes two nights ago.

“That’s where we need to go,” Bednar said. “That has been a strength of our team for years, the involvement of our ‘D’ on the offensive side of it. We have been pushing them to get even more involved and yes, we are starting to get rewarded for that.”

Girard grabbed the puck from a stumbling Brady Skjei, drew a penalty in the neutral zone and still skated in to score on a breakaway, giving the Avs their second straight win and moving them back to .500 on the season (8- 8).

“I just saw Skjei’s back turned and I just applied pressure when he turned around,” Girard said. “To be honest, it was just a reading.

“It’s always nice to have a breakaway and also a chance to score. …Very happy to be able to contribute in OT.”

Alexandar Georgiev made 29 saves in another strong performance for the Avs. Just like two nights ago, the Avalanche fell behind early and came back in the second period.

Colorado’s second power-play unit scored first, although that happened just after Nashville’s penalty expired. Toews scored 4:32 into the second when his shot went off a Predators skate and snuck past goaltender Juuse Saros. TJ Tynan also picked up his second career NHL point – and first since 2019-20 – during the game.

The Avs’ top line had several dominant shifts before Colorado finally took the lead at 11:37. Nathan MacKinnon carried the puck to the offensive end and then dropped it for Joel Kiviranta, who had just come off the bench. He found Mikko Rantanen for a one-timer and his team-leading ninth goal of the season.

The assist was point No. 30 for MacKinnon, who became the first NHL player to get there this season. MacKinnon leads the league in points and assists (23).

Colton Sissons tied this match at 2-2 just 59 seconds into the third period. Roman Josi made a great play to prevent a Colorado rush and keep the puck in the Avs end, then found Sissons with a slick pass for an easy goal at the right post.

Sissons has scored two goals in fifteen games this year, both against the Avs. His ten career games against Colorado are also his most against any team. He also had three goals and seven points against the Avs in a six-game playoff series in 2018.

For the third straight game, the Avalanche didn’t play well in the first period, but Georgiev kept his team close. Nashville had ten of eleven high-risk scoring opportunities in the first twenty minutes, but scored on only one of them.

Even the goal Georgiev allowed in the first was certainly not his fault. He stopped Luke Evangelista’s first rebound attempt with a Juuso Parssinen point shot, but the Nashville forward had enough time to gather it, switch to his forehand and score without any duress on the third attempt.

Three straight strong performances from Georgiev, combined with a solid string of starts from Justus Annunen before that, have helped stabilize the position for the Avalanche. The defense corps takes more offensive action.

And reinforcements should arrive later this week, with Valeri Nichushkin expected to play Friday when he is reinstated by the NHL after a six-month suspension and Jonathan Drouin also set to return from an upper-body injury.

“I feel like the guys who play in the spots of the guys who are outside are doing a great job,” Rantanen said. “They work really hard and make plays. But of course every team wants to have the best lineup. Every team wants their guys to be healthy. I cannot deny that, but the replacements did their best.”

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Originally published: November 11, 2024 at 9:50 PM MST