None of us should be surprised. Throughout the regular season, the Nashville Predators started games slowly. The first periods were often messy, with poor passing, allowing opponents to control possessions. The same thing happened in Game 1 versus the Avalanche. While it did not cost them the game, continuing the trend could.
Make no mistake. The Colorado Avalanche belong in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They proved that on Thursday night. From the moment the puck dropped, the Avalanche aggressively flew around the ice. They challenged any attempt at Nashville controlling the puck. Sure, shot shares favored the Predators most of the night, but there were stretches of minutes where it felt the Predators could not get the puck out of the defensive zone.