DENVER – Nathan MacKinnon is counting on 18,000 of his rowdy friends to give the Colorado Avalanche a little bit of an extra buzz.
Maybe even throw Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne off his game.
Trailing the top-seeded Predators 2-0 in the first-round series, the Avalanche return Monday (8 p.m. MDT, NBCSN) to a building that’s certainly been something to write home about this season.
Their 28 wins at the Pepsi Center in the regular season tied the franchise mark held by the 2000-01 squad that went on to capture the Stanley Cup.
“We have lots of confidence here,” said MacKinnon, whose team has dropped 12 straight to the Predators. “The building has been a lot of fun this year.”
MacKinnon said the Avs need to clean up the little things against a savvy Predators team.
“We’re in a tough spot right now,” MacKinnon said. “Two games at home. Hopefully, we can even up the series.”
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar thought goaltender Jonathan Bernier played “OK” in the first two games.
“If you look at the importance of goaltending this time of year, good is usually not good enough,” Bednar said.
The Predators fully expect a more tenacious rush from a youthful Colorado squad. “They’re persistent,” Nashville forward Austin Watson said.
“There’s no quit in them.”
