DENVER – – Kale Although sent a low liner through the traffic and then quickly found himself surrounded by happy teammates.
Perhaps the happiest of them all was at the other end. After all, it was the 32nd birthday of goalkeeper Darcy Kumper. The goal made a lot of a gift.
Although he scored 8:31 after extra time, Kumper made 25 saves and Colorado Avelanch beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first round playoff series.
Although he got a rebound in the middle of the offensive zone and hit the puck right on target – just as it had been all night. His 12 shots on goal were a new record for the franchise playoffs.
“I just had the feeling that the puck was finding us up tonight,” said the modest Makar. “Not even me specifically, we were just trying to get around it.”
Nathan McKinnon also scored for Colorado, who faced a more intense defense of Nashville after a 7-2 victory in Game 1. The Predators blocked 34 shots.
“We felt like we were on them for the whole third period, and eventually most of the time the hockey gods will reward you for this hard work,” Makar said. “For us, we managed to get the lucky one in the sequels.
The series moves to Nashville for Game 3 on Saturday.
Jacob Trenin scored for Nashville.
Connor Ingram stepped in and stepped up to stop 49 shots when he made his first start of the season. He conceded a goal to McKinnon in the first shot of the match and turned everything to a goal by Makar.
The 25-year-old Ingram released David Ritic in the first game after Avalanche scored five goals in the first period. The Predators are left without top goalkeeper Giuseppe Saros, who was removed from a lower body injury, but may return later in the series.
“This is what you dream of as a child, to get the chance to do it and play in front of such a crowd,” said Ingram, whose parents attended the game. “It is very funny.”
Since moving to Denver, the Avalanche are 14-2 in a series of the best of seven playoffs when they record their first two games.
Colorado’s goal was canceled in the last seconds of the second period due to the intervention of the goalkeeper. Arthur Lehkonen fell on top of Ingram before Valery Nichushkin’s shot entered. The avalanche challenged the game and officials confirmed the call for a repeat.
That put Nashville in the power game to start third. Shortly afterwards, the Predators had a 5-on-3 advantage of 1:52 when Nichushkin went to the penalty area for a high stick. But they could not take advantage. Although the best chance to score was in the break, but his shot fell into Ingram’s glove.
Ingram was at his best in the third period when he stopped an accurate shot by Nazem Kadri with his left tampon. Ingram spent most of the season with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League, where he spent 30-17-9. He has appeared in three regular season games for Nashville this season.
His colleague applauded Ingram’s efforts.
“He played great,” said Kumper. “Stepping in without much experience, he was definitely ready to go. That made it difficult for our archers. ”
Both teams fought in the power game, combining 0 for 8. There were 110 combined goals.
“They are the top offensive team in the league. They do it with a lot of teams, “said Predators coach John Hines. “If you want to beat them, you have to have a strong goalkeeper. I thought the way our boys defended themselves and the way they played when they were under duress was at the level you need tonight. ”
The first period was significantly different for the Predators from match 1, when they conceded five goals. This time they were ahead of Avalanche by 11-8.
Trenin equalized the match in the 1st at 4:41 until the end in the first. He celebrated by jumping into the boards behind the door.
McKinnon scored the first goal of the first 5:25 in action. He fired a shot at Ingram’s butt during a mini-detachment. McKinnon has 73 points (31 goals, 42 assists) in 52 playoff games in his career.
“He’s definitely a different animal in the playoffs,” Makar said. “That’s why he’s probably the best player in the world.”
SHOTS ON A REEL
Makar’s 12 shots on goal surpassed the play-off franchise mark held by Claude Lemieux, who had 11 shots in a post-season match twice (May 8, 1996 in Chicago and May 9, 1997 in Edmonton).
MENTAL HEALTH
Ingram has become a defender of mental health, talking about dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder. He participated in a program to help NHL players more than a year ago.
“It was also a moment in his life when he reached the bottom, but he also felt really supported,” Hines said. “He grew up in many ways as a person and also as a player.”
JOSE’S HELP
Predators defender Roman Yossi set the goal for Trenin to give him 31 assists this season in his career. This binds Ryan Ellis for the most in the history of Predators.
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