Nashville came into Pepsi Center on Tuesday night losers of three in a row and six of their last seven. At 2-5-1 they occupied last place in the Central Division. They remain there on Wednesday, but a 5-1 win over the Avalanche has the Predators feeling more confident about a turnaround. Colorado, meanwhile, is just one point ahead of Nashville in a three-way tie for fourth in the division.
Craig Smith scored twice for the Predators and Pekka Rinee stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced. Matt Irwin, Ryan Johansen and Roman Josi also scored for Nashville. Jarome Iginla scored career goal number 613 off a rebound to even the score early in the first period, but that was all the offense Colorado could muster.
Colorado faces the top two teams in the Central over the next two games. They travel to Chicago for a Thursday night matchup before returning home on Saturday against Minnesota. Both the Blackhawks and the Wild sit at 13 points at 6-3-1.
