The Colorado Avalanche weren’t going to stay undefeated at home in regulation for the entire season. Still, many didn’t think that the Nashville Predators would be the ones to end that streak.
Friday, the Predators found the back of the net seven times as it ended the Avalanche’s home point streak and undefeated regulation streak in a 7-2 victory.
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The Predators, being a team fighting for a Wild Card spot, the winning effort against the best team in the NHL came as a surprise to many, except for Nashville.
“That’s the next step for our team. To keep stringing these really good performances together against the top teams in the league,” Filip Forsberg said. “We know we can do this. We’ve just got to keep doing it on a regular basis.”
It hasn’t come easy. In addition to digging themselves out of the basement of the league, as the Predators were in mid-November, the latest wins have also been about playing more confidently.
That was abundant in the 4-3 overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, where Michael McCarron dropped the gloves with Darnell Nurse 3 seconds into the game, which was followed by a Steven Stamkos goal less than three minutes into the game.
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The 1-0 lead was the first time Nashville had not given up the first goal of a game in 11 straight games.
Against Colorado, associate head coach Luke Richardson said it was a similar mentality of not backing down from anything the Avalanche were going to throw at them.
“It’s taken months for us to get here and it’s a lot of work,” Richardson said. “You can see it from the last time we were in here until now, where a team like this flexed its muscles last time, and we crumbled a little bit.
“We talked about that a little bit before the game and I think our leadership showed that we were strong…when they (Colorado) pushed back and made it 2-2, we could’ve easily crumbled, but that showed the maturity in this team.”
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Ryan O’Reilly has been a critical part of the Predators’ success this season, keeping his play steady through the good and the bad. Friday, he recorded his seventh career hat trick against his former team.
He leads the Predators with 43 points in 47 games.
Jan 16, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Nashville Predators center Ryan O’Reilly (90) celebrates his hat trick goal in the second period against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
“When we’re all pulling the rope together, all five guys on the ice are working and communicating, we can compete with anyone,” O’Reilly said. “Tonight, that was a great team we beat, but it’s not going to get any easier.”
It is what may be the Predators’ most challenging two-game stretch of the season; they travel to Las Vegas 24 hours later to play the Pacific Division-leading Vegas Golden Knights.
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Nashville does have a win over Vegas this season, dispatching the Golden Knights 4-2 on New Year’s Eve, but at the time, the Golden Knights were heavily injured and without their top scorer, Jack Eichel.
With Eichel and a handful of key players back, the Golden Knights have won six straight and gained some space between the Edmonton Oilers for the top spot in the division.
“We’ve got a tough one tomorrow that we kind of have to shift the focus, but you can tell for the group that it’s a confidence-building win there that we can lean on.”
 Up next: Nashville Predators (23-20-4, 5th Central) at Vegas Golden Knights (23-11-12, 1st Pacific) on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 9 p.m. CST at T-Mobile Arena