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Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog drive Avalanche to victory

By Jeremy Lambert

DENVER, CO - APRIL 16: Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrate a second period goal by MacKinnon during a first round playoff game between the Colorado Avalanche and the visiting Nashville Predators on April 16, 2018 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO. (Photo by Russell Lansford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - APRIL 16: Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrate a second period goal by MacKinnon during a first round playoff game between the Colorado Avalanche and the visiting Nashville Predators on April 16, 2018 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO. (Photo by Russell Lansford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Led by Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog, the Colorado Avalanche pulled out a 5-3 victory over the Nashville Predators in Game 3.

The Hart Trophy is a regular season award given to the league’s most valuable player. Right now, the Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon and the New Jersey Devils’ Taylor Hall are neck-and-neck for it. 

Shortly after Taylor Hall made his presence felt in the playoffs, lifting the Devils to a 5-2 victory, Nathan MacKinnon did the same thing for the Avalanche.

MacKinnon’s breakaway goal with two minutes left in the second period gave the Avalanche a 3-0 lead over the Nashville Predators. Less than five minutes into the second period, MacKinnon scored his second of the game to make it 4-0. The goal chased likely Vezina Trophy winner Pekka Rinne to the bench.

After hearing all week how the Predators crowd is the loudest in the NHL, the Pepsi Center gave them a run for their money.

The Avalanche are unlikely to win this series. They’re trying to win hockey games with Patrick Nemeth and Mark Barberio as their third and fourth defensemen and Jonathan Bernier in goal. But through three games, they’ve let Nashville know this is going to be a fight.

The score sheet says it starts with MacKinnon. That’s only partially true. The likely Hart Trophy winner (sorry, Hall) drives the offense. And he’s a different player on home ice. But it truly starts with captain Gabriel Landeskog.

MacKinnon’s breakaway goal to make it 3-0 doesn’t happen without the hard work of Landeskog. Falling down at center ice, he out-battled two Nashville players before sending it over to his streaking linemate.

The message from Landeskog has been the same all season: “This isn’t the same team as last year.” Last year’s team finished with 48 points and was the laughingstock of the league. This year’s team has gone stride for stride with the 2017 Western Conference Champions and 2018 Presidents’ Trophy winners. Landeskog wasn’t lying.

Colorado jumped out to another 1-0 lead, although it took them until their second shot of the game to solve Rinne on Monday night. Blake Comeau finished off a Carl Soderberg feed in front to get the Avs faithful back on their feet just after sitting down.

In the two previous games, Nashville responded by tying the game at one following the early goal. This time, Colorado pushed the lead to 2-0 on a deflection by Gabriel Bourque.

MacKinnon’s goal capped off a dream first period for the Avalanche, but a 3-0 lead with 40 minutes of hockey left wasn’t exactly comfortable. Despite playing four defensemen who wouldn’t crack Nashville’s top seven on the backend, Colorado limited high quality scoring opportunities. The Predators climbed back in with a 5-on-3 goal halfway through the second and a Colton Sissons marker with 14 minutes left in the game. But the Colorado defense held strong.

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Landeskog tried his best to feed MacKinnon for the hat trick on an empty net goal, but was hauled down by Ryan Ellis on a 2-on-1. The penalty resulted in an automatic goal for Landeskog. While a third goal by MacKinnon would have blown the roof off Pepsi Center and caused fans to litter the ice, a goal credited to Landeskog was more fitting.

Nathan MacKinnon will win the Hart trophy. But Gabriel Landeskog is the soul of the Avalanche.

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