“It was also a point in his life where he hit rock bottom, but he also felt really supported,” Hynes said. He took part in an NHL player assistance program more than a year ago. Ingram has become a mental health advocate, talking about dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Makar’s 12 shots on goal surpassed the franchise playoff mark held by Claude Lemieux, who had 11 shots in a postseason game twice (May 8, 1996, at Chicago and May 9, 1997, at Edmonton). “That’s why he’s probably the best player in the world.” “He’s definitely a different animal in the playoffs,” Makar said. MacKinnon has 73 points (31 goals, 42 assists) in 52 career playoff games. He lined in a shot to the stick side of Ingram on a mini-breakaway. MacKinnon scored the first goal on the game's first shot 5:25 into the action. He celebrated by jumping into the boards behind the goal. Trenin tied the game at 1-apiece with 4:41 left in the first. This time, they outshot the Avalanche by an 11-8 margin. The first period was vastly different for the Predators than Game 1, when they allowed five goals. I thought the way that our guys defended and the way that they played when they were under duress was at the level that you need tonight.” “If you’re going to beat them, you have to have strong goaltending. They do this to a lot of teams,” Predators coach John Hynes said. “They’re a top offensive team in the league. Made it tough on our shooters.”īoth teams struggled on the power play, going a combined 0 for 8. “Stepping in with not a ton of experience, he was definitely ready to go. His counterpart applauded Ingram's effort. He appeared in three regular season games for Nashville this season. Ingram spent most of the season with the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League, where he went 30-17-9. Ingram was at his finest in the third period when he stopped a point-blank shot from Nazem Kadri with his left pad. The best scoring chance was Makar on a breakaway, only to have his shot land in the glove of Ingram. Shortly after, the Predators had a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:52 when Nichushkin went to the penalty box for a high-stick. It put Nashville on the power play to start the third. The Avalanche challenged the play and the officials confirmed the call on replay. Artturi Lehkonen fell on top of Ingram before a shot from Valeri Nichushkin went in. Since moving to Denver, the Avalanche are 14-2 in a best-of-seven playoff series when they capture the opening two games.Ĭolorado had a goal disallowed in the closing seconds of the second period for goaltender interference. “This is what you dream about as a kid, to get the chance to do it and play in front of a crowd like that,” said Ingram, whose parents attended the game. The Predators remain without top goaltender Juuse Saros, who is sidelined by a lower-body injury but could be back later in the series. The 25-year-old Ingram relieved David Rittich in the first game after the Avalanche scored five first-period goals. He allowed MacKinnon's goal on the first shot of the game and turned back everything until Makar's goal. The series moves to Nashville for Game 3 on Saturday.Ĭonnor Ingram stepped in and stepped up in stopping 49 shots as he made his first postseason start. “For us, we were able to get a lucky one in overtime.” “We felt like we were on them the whole third period, and eventually most of the time, the hockey gods are going to reward you for that hard work,” Makar said. Nathan MacKinnon also scored for Colorado, which faced a more intense Nashville defense after winning 7-2 in Game 1. “Not even me specifically, we were just trying to work it around.” “It just felt like the puck was finding us up top tonight,” the humble Makar explained. His 12 shots on goal was a new franchise playoff record. Makar got the rebound in the middle of the offensive zone and blasted the puck right on target - just like he was all night. Makar scored 8:31 into overtime, Kuemper made 25 saves and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series. After all, it was goaltender Darcy Kuemper’s 32nd birthday. Maybe the happiest of all was at the other end. NHL, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville PredatorsĭENVER - Cale Makar sent a low liner through traffic and then quickly found himself surrounded by happy teammates. Makar scores in OT, Avs win 2-1 over Predators in Game 2
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