Predators vs. Avalanche: O'Reilly and Stamkos Score Twice Each as Nashville's Power Play Goes 4-for-7

Steven Stamkos skated back to the Nashville bench figuring his shot had stayed out. His teammates told him the puck never went in. He believed them. Then the replay hit the big screen at Bridgestone Arena, and the 2-0 goal that nobody thought counted suddenly did.

That was the kind of Sunday night it was for the Nashville Predators. Ryan O'Reilly scored twice and added two assists, Stamkos matched him with two goals and an assist, and Nashville's power play went 4-for-7 in a 6-2 thumping of the Colorado Avalanche, who were rested and waiting while the Predators played the second half of a back-to-back.

"I had already accepted the fact that it was no goal," Stamkos said, per NHL.com. "When they started showing it on the jumbotron, I was like, 'Wait a minute.'"

Special Teams, Special Night

Nashville set the tone early, and Stamkos did it without the puck on his stick. On a power play at 4:01 of the first, he blocked Logan O'Connor's attempt to clear the zone along the boards, Roman Josi scooped up the loose puck, and Filip Forsberg ripped a shot from the high slot past Scott Wedgewood for a 1-0 lead.

Then came the goal-line drama at 10:48. Stamkos fired from the left side, the puck popped off Wedgewood and fluttered toward the line, and Colorado defenseman Cale Makar swiped at it. The officials on the ice said no goal. Video review said the puck had completely crossed, and the call was reversed.

The Goal That Wasn't, Until It Was

That review was the hinge. Instead of a one-goal game against a talented Colorado team waiting to pounce, Nashville carried a 2-0 cushion into the second period, and the Avalanche never found their legs after that.

The Predators kept feeding the power play. O'Reilly's goal at 6:38 of the second was a little bit of everything: a skate-to-stick settle on Josi's pass, a quick pivot and a backhand that rose over Wedgewood for a 3-0 lead. It was pure veteran craft, the hockey equivalent of a chef plating a dish without looking.

Late in the period, the revenge subplot arrived. Ross Colton and Jack Drury, both former Avalanche forwards facing their old team for the first time, connected at 16:36. Colton spotted Drury all alone, and Drury finished with a backhand that slipped past Wedgewood's reaching glove for a 4-0 lead.

"I was happy for Ross," Drury said. "It was a cool moment to share with him."

Just 53 seconds later, O'Reilly struck again on the power play with a wrist shot, and it was 5-0. The building was rocking, and Colorado was reaching for the remote.

Colorado Shows a Pulse

The Avalanche did get something going before intermission. Artturi Lehkonen tapped in a Martin Necas centering pass at 17:55, his 10th goal of the season, extending his point streak to seven games. Devon Toews followed with a wrist shot during 4-on-4 play at 2:43 of the third to cut it to 5-2.

Nashville answered the only way it seemed to know how on this night: with the man advantage. Working a 5-on-3 at 10:24, O'Reilly chased down a loose rebound behind the net and backhanded it out front, where Stamkos was waiting on the right side with Wedgewood stranded. Stamkos did not miss, and that was the 6-2 final.

"(Colorado) was taking certain things away and leaving certain things open," Stamkos said. "We exposed that tonight."

O'Reilly Runs the Show

O'Reilly finished with four points in 20:48 of ice time, and he won 11 of the 12 faceoffs he took. That is not a typo. He basically owned the dot like it was his personal property.

Stamkos now has seven goals on the season, and Forsberg added a goal and two assists. Josi quietly picked up three assists, including the primary helper on two of the power-play goals.

In net, Justus Annunen made 19 saves on 21 shots for his first win of the season. There is a fun twist there: the AP noted Annunen and Wedgewood were traded for each other last November in a one-for-one goaltender swap. On this night, Nashville won that trade in a landslide. Wedgewood made 29 saves but allowed six goals on 35 shots.

"Your best players win you the most games, and they won us that game tonight," Predators coach Andrew Brunette said.

Stats That Matter

• 4 for 7: Nashville's power play. NHL.com noted it was the first time the Predators scored four power-play goals in a game since Jan. 7, 2012.
• 0 for 4: Colorado's power play, a brutal split in a game decided on special teams.
• 61.7 percent: Nashville's faceoff rate, led by O'Reilly's 11-1 night.
• 35-21: the shot count in Nashville's favor.
• 21: Colorado's penalty minutes, which helps explain everything above.

The Big Picture

Nashville improved to 4-3-4 with 12 points after losing its previous two games, and it has points in four of its past five. According to the AP, the Predators had received just one power-play opportunity in each of their three previous games, so seven chances must have felt like Christmas morning. They host the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

Colorado dropped to 6-5-1 with 13 points and has lost three of four. Coach Jared Bednar was not thrilled with the energy or the discipline. "It looked like it was the exact opposite," he said of his team's legs against a club on a back-to-back. On staying out of the box, he added, "that was the exact opposite too." The Avalanche host New Jersey on Wednesday.

The Closing Take

Brunette had the best line of the night, and it sounds like it came straight out of a Fast and Furious script. "We had 20 drivers tonight," he said. "Every time it was their turn to grab the wheel, they floored it."

Somewhere, a guy in a tank top is talking about family. Nashville just needs to keep the engine running.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes from NHL.com's game recap; additional details as reported by the Associated Press and NHL.com.