DENVER (AP) Now that was more of the start Nashville was looking for.

The finish? Not as much.Filip Forsberg scored another creative goal Adam Clendening Jersey Womens , Pekka Rinne rebounded from a rocky performance with 31 saves, and the Predators withstood a furious rally by the Colorado Avalanche for a 3-2 win in Game 4 on Wednesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.”I guess probably some teams, every once in a while, can say everything is perfect. Everything is awesome,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. ”But most times you’re trying to work on something, trying to get better at something.”For the first time all series, the Avs were held scoreless in the opening period and the Predators built a 3-0 cushion heading into the final period.Colton Sissons and Craig Smith also scored for the Predators, who can close out the series Friday when it shifts back to Nashville for Game 5.”We don’t want it to end at all,” Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon said. ”We’re still in it. It’s not over yet.”Rinne was solid early after being pulled from the last game. Cruising along and up 3-0 Devin Shore Jersey , the Vezina Trophy finalist allowed Gabriel Landeskog’s 5-on-3 power-play goal in the third and another on Alexander Kerfoot’s tap-in off a rebound with 8:59 remaining.Colin Wilson nearly tied with about 2 minutes left when his shot appeared to hit the post. The Avalanche pulled backup goalie Andrew Hammond late, but couldn’t get the tying goal. Tyson Jost sent a shot over the net at the buzzer.”It was a good push by them,” Forsberg said.Forsberg worked his puck-handling magic in the first period by dancing around defenseman Duncan Siemens and juking Jonathan Bernier for his third goal of the series. The ever-creative Forsberg had an artistic goal in Game 1 as well, when he sent the puck through the defenseman’s legs before scoring.”Just tried to use my speed wide and use that speed all the way around the net,” Forsberg said.Bernier allowed three goals on 26 shots before being replaced by Hammond to start the third period due to a lower body injury. Hammond had eight saves.Forsberg and his crew came out with a little more spring in their skates for Game 4. This may have played a role: The team went through an up-tempo practice the day before. It was a way to avoid a sluggish start like Monday when Colorado scored three times in the first period of Game 3.The strategy worked. Nashville controlled the tempo except for a frenzied stretch in the third.”We knew we weren’t going to go 16-0,” Forsberg said. ”We were going to lose a game throughout these playoffs and obviously we were just looking to bounce back.”Now, the Avs are looking to regroup.”I’m obviously upset at the result, but I loved our third, there’s no question Womens Esa Lindell Jersey ,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. ”But we need to find that urgency earlier.”There was a scary moment in the second period when MacKinnon’s stick caught teammate Mikko Rantanen near the eye. Rantanen left with a towel pressed against his face, only to return a few minutes later.But not before the Predators scored another goal as Smith zoomed out of the penalty box and beat Bernier with a wrist shot to make it 3-0.From there, things turned a little testy. Landeskog hit a tumbling Ryan Johansen, who headed to the dressing room. He returned in the third period.P.K. Subban got the crowd fired up early by shooting a puck into Colorado’s net in the pregame warmups. He’s stepped into the villain’s role after delivering a blow to the side of MacKinnon’s helmet during Game 3. Subban was booed each time he touched the puck.The Predators came out firing on all cylinders, even going on an early 5-on-3 power play for 1:20. They but couldn’t get anything past Bernier, but they did knock Bernier’s mask momentarily out of commission when Viktor Arvidsson’s slap shot caught him square him in the cage. Bernier skated over to the bench to grab his backup one. He later returned to his original one.NOTES: Predators F Calle Jarnkrok returned after missing the last 16 games with an upper-body injury. … Rinne felt honored to be a finalist for the award that goes to the league’s top goaltender. ”Even though it’s an individual award, I couldn’t do it without my teammates,” he said. … Avs D Samuel Girard missed a third straight game with an upper-body injury. … Avs F Carl Soderberg took a bit hit from RW Ryan Hartman in the third that drew a charging penalty.— ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Knowing that a daunting seven-game trip awaited them Jamie Benn Jersey , the Minnesota Wild wanted to leave home on a high note.A win against a division rival helped them do just that.Eric Staal put Minnesota ahead on the power play with 9:44 remaining, and Jonas Brodin had a late empty-netter as the Wild held on to beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Saturday night.Staal’s goal came on the fifth power play of the night for Minnesota, which won its fifth straight. The Wild had failed to score with the man advantage until Staal’s shot from between the faceoff circles found its way past Semyon Varlamov.“We made a little tweak on the power play and I think it opened up a little bit different of a threat,” Staal said.Brodin’s empty-netter gave the Wild a 3-1 lead with 2:43 remaining. Colorado pulled Varlamov after going on the power play, but Minnesota won the faceoff in its own zone before Brodin fired the length of the rink to score.“I got lucky on that one,” Brodin said. “I felt I could go for it. It’s a PK, too, so it’s not going to be icing. I went for it and I got lucky.”Gabriel Landeskog scored in traffic for Colorado with 41.1 seconds remaining. Mark Barberio also scored for the Avalanche, and Mikael Granlund had Minnesota’s first goal http://www.officialstarsproonline.com/authentic-adidas-jason-spezza-jersey , extending his point streak to seven games.Devan Dubnyk made 30 saves for the Wild, while Varlamov stopped 25 shots.Staal’s goal came after a penalty on Nikita Zadorov. Granlund and Jason Zucker assisted.Minnesota is now 5-1-1 on the year when giving up the first goal. Saturday marked the first time all season Colorado lost after scoring first.Colorado’s top line of Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen was held mostly in check. The trio entered Saturday with 53 points but was frustrated for most of the night by Minnesota’s defense.“We had a lot of good chances, a lot of good looks,” MacKinnon said. “I guess you can’t score every time.”Granlund’s shot at 7:15 of the second period found a bit of room between Varlamov and the pipe to even the game at 1-1, just seconds after Matt Calvert emerged from the penalty box.Minnesota killed all six penalties, including 45 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage for Colorado. The Avalanche entered Saturday’s game with the eighth-best power play in the league (27.5 percent). Minnesota came in having scored on 11.5 percent of its power plays, which was 27th in the league.“Special teams in games like this win you games,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. “They were the difference John Klingberg Jersey , I thought.”Minnesota and Colorado have each won a game in the rivalry so far this year. The Avalanche won 4-1 in the season opener on Oct. 1.“We did some good things. But we can’t be happy with a loss,” Barberio said. “I know it’s early, but this division’s too good and too tight to drop points.”NOTES: Wild D Ryan Suter was honored for playing in his 1,000th career game. Suter reached the milestone Thursday against the Kings. … Avalanche C Tyson Jost sat out with a head injury. … Minnesota F Jordan Greenway had a hat trick for the Iowa Wild on Saturday in his first game since being assigned to Minnesota’s AHL affiliate a day earlier.UP NEXTAvalanche: At Calgary on Thursday night.Wild: Visit Vancouver on Monday night in the opener of a seven-game trip. Minnesota won’t play at home again until Nov. 13.