Over the course of a long NHL season, unexpected results will happen from time to time as no team can simply dominate every time it goes out on to the ice. The Colorado Avalanche have been doing their best to prove that axiom wrong this season as they have the best record (33-5-8) in the league by a wide margin. The Avs went into Friday night's game against the Nashville Predators with a 19-0-3 record on home ice, and they had gone more than half their home schedule without a regulation loss at Ball Arena.
The Nashville Predators have shown some recent improvement, but they are out of the current Western Conference playoff structure. However, they were not intimidated by the presence of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. The Predators put an end to Colorado's undefeated ways at home as they dominated their hosts in a 7-3 Nashville victory.
Ryan O'Reilly led the way as he registered a hat trick and also added an assist in the triumph. The Predators have won 3 games in a row, beating the Washington Capitals and Edmonton Oilers in addition to the Avs. Earning a winning streak against 3 of the more impressive teams in the NHL has allowed the Preds to gain confidence.
“Obviously, a great win for us. Thought everyone competed, everyone played hard tonight,” O’Reilly said, per NHL.com. “To give that team their first regulation loss here is something to be proud of.
“When we're all pulling the rope together, five guys on the ice are working, communicating, we can compete with anyone. And tonight, that was a great team we beat.”
In addition to O'Reilly's huge night, the Predators also received goals from Michael Bunting, Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos and Michael McCarron.
