Samuel Girard scores in overtime to help Avalanche fend off Predators

DENVER — Samuel Girard scored on a breakaway in overtime Monday night to help the Colorado Avalanche hold off the Nashville Predators in a 3-2 win at Ball Arena.

Girard took the puck from a stumbling Brady Skjei, drew a penalty and skated in to score anyway, giving the Avs their second straight victory and getting them back to .500 on the season (8-8).

Alexandar Georgiev made 29 saves in another strong outing for the Avs. Just like two nights ago here, the Avalanche fell behind early then came back in the second period.

Colorado’s second power-play unit scored first, though it came just after the Nashville penalty expired. Devon Toews scored his first of the season 4:32 into the second. His shot went off a Predators’ skate and snuck past goalie Juuse Saros. T.J. Tynan also picked up his second career NHL point — and first since 2019-20 — on the play.

The Avs’ top line had multiple dominant shifts before eventually giving Colorado the lead at 11:37. Nathan MacKinnon carried the puck into the offensive end, then dropped it for Joel Kiviranta, who had just come off the bench. He found Mikko Rantanen for a one-timer and his team-leading ninth goal of the season.

The assist was point No. 30 for MacKinnon, who became the first NHL player to get there this season. MacKinnon leads the league in points and assists (23).

Colton Sissons tied the game at 2-2 just 59 seconds into the third period. Roman Josi made a great play to prevent a Colorado rush and keep the puck in the Avs end, then he found Sissons with a slick pass to set up an easy goal near the right post.

Sissons has two goals in 15 games this year — both have been against the Avs. His 10 career tallies against Colorado is also his most against any team. He also had three goals and seven points against the Avs in a six-game playoff series in 2018.

For the third straight game, the Avalanche did not play well in the first period but Georgiev kept his team close. Nashville had 10 of the 11 high-danger scoring chances in the opening 20 minutes but only scored on one of them.

Even the goal Georgiev allowed in the first was certainly not his fault. He stopped Luke Evangelista’s first rebound try of a Juuso Parssinen point shot, but the Nashville forward had enough time to collect it, switch to his forehand and score on the third try without any duress.

Three straight strong performances from Georgiev, combined with a solid string of starts from Justus Annunen before that, has helped stabilize the position for the Avalanche. And there should be reinforcements coming later this week up front.