Eddie Jackson Jersey from SADASD's blog

The goalie nicknamed the ”Hamburglar” came through.

Andrew Hammond made a career-high 44 saves for his first postseason victory Eddie Jackson Jersey , and Colorado rallied to beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 on Friday night and sent the first-round series back to Denver for Game 6.

”Obviously, it was a lot of fun,” said Hammond, who was mobbed in the locker room. ”We’re excited to have another game. We didn’t want this to be the last one of the season, and I think to a man, we all did whatever we could to make sure that wasn’t the case.”

This is the third time the Avalanche had trailed 3-1 in a series since moving to Colorado. They lost the first two but have a chance Sunday to push the defending Western Conference champs to a seventh game after rallying with two goals in the final 4:11.

They also became the first to win a playoff game in regulation when trailing in the final 5:00 of the third since Chicago won at Boston in Game 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final.

Gabriel Landeskog started the rally with his goal into an empty net with Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne caught outside the crease with his own teammate Ryan Ellis in his lap. Then Sven Andrighetto gave the Avs the lead off a rebound of a shot by J.T. Compher with 1:28 left that stunned a sold-out Nashville crowd that had expected to celebrate advancing to the second round.

”We’ve got a series again going home, and it’s going to be exciting,” Landeskog said. ”As we talked about before tonight, just to win one. We don’t have to win three in one night.”

This was not only Hammond’s first playoff victory, it was his first postseason start since April 17, 2015 Robert Woods Jersey , with Ottawa and just the third of his career. He started only one game during the regular season after being traded to Colorado in November.

”You never know when you’re going to get a second chance,” Hammond said. ”I’ve played two games basically since the start of January – at times it felt as though that day would never come again when you’re going to play again. You keep battling in practice, you stick to the process, when you get your chance, you’re ready.”

Colorado coach Jared Bednar said he loved Hammond’s demeanor since learning he would be starting.

”He’s waited a long time this year for this opportunity, and he’s making the most of it,” Bednar said.

The series winner will face Winnipeg in the second round.

Nick Bonino scored for Nashville.

This game was scoreless until Bonino’s goal with 9:42 left, a big change for a series that had been the highest-scoring of the first round averaging 7.25 goals per game coming into Game 5.

The Predators peppered Hammond, and the only time Nashville beat him was when Mattias Ekholm’s shot bounced off his left pad and went in off Bonino’s right skate. The official on the spot immediately waved it off. Officials huddled, then reviewed the play.

During the review, fans sang ”Let It Be” while holding up their cellphones with the flash on. Referee Kevin Pollock announced the call on the ice had been overturned Jadeveon Clowney Jersey , starting a long-awaited celebration.

The lead didn’t last long as the Avs rallied.

”It’s not like we didn’t have opportunities,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. ”They did a pretty good job in front of him. We had lots of looks, lots of opportunities. We couldn’t get in.”

The Avalanche came into the postseason with goalie Semyon Varlamov and defenseman Erik Johnson sidelined by knee injuries, then defenseman Samuel Girard missed three games with his own upper-body injury before Jonathan Bernier, Varlamov’s backup, suffered his own lower-body injury. That pushed the Hamburglar into the net.

The Predators started and ended the second period on the power play but couldn’t beat Hammond. Their best scoring chance came with a 4-on-2, but Hammond stopped Roman Josi’s shot and then handled Calle Jarnkrok’s attempt off the rebound at 12:36. Hammond also made a big pad save on Ellis’ slap shot and then stopped another Josi shot late in the period.

NOTES: The Avalanche snapped a seven-game skid in Nashville with the win. They ended a 12-game skid to the Preds overall in Game 3. … Nashville had been perfect last postseason with a chance to clinch a series on its own ice, winning all three series to reach the Stanley Cup Final. … Predators forward Ryan Hartman sat out his suspension for a hit on Carl Soderberg in Game 4.

UP NEXT

Game 6 in Denver on Sunday night.

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The Philadelphia Eagles went from playoff spectators to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, an impressive one-season turnaround that was far from unprecedented in the modern NFL.

The Eagles were the seventh team in the past 19 seasons to pull off that trick in a sport that always goes through some significant playoff turnover each season.

There have been at least four new playoff teams each year since the NFL went to the 12-team format in 1990, including eight new postseason participants last season when the Eagles won it all.

With new blood coming into the playoffs each year, there are just as many teams heading another way George Iloka Jersey , doomed by injuries, age, bad luck, poor coaching or other reasons.

Here's a look at three teams that could go from playoff spectators to participants, and three others that could go the opposite direction:

TRENDING UP

Houston Texans: Deshaun Watson showed flashes of becoming a star quarterback in six starts as a rookie before getting hurt. With the dynamic Watson on offense and a healthy J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus back on defense, the Texans could be in position to get back into the playoffs after a one-year hiatus. The Texans scored at least 33 points in Watson's final five starts and then went 1-8 after he had a season-ending injury in practice. Keeping Watson healthy will be necessary it the Texans are going to rebound.

Green Bay Packers: Green Bay's run of eight straight playoff appearances ended last season thanks mostly to a collarbone injury that limited star quarterback Aaron Rodgers to seven games. With Rodgers again healthy, the Packers should be among the contenders in the NFC, as they usually are. Green Bay was much more active this offseason under new GM Brian Gutekunst, adding prominent free agents like Jimmy Graham and Muhammad Wilkerson. New defensive coordinator Mike Pettine should bring a more aggressive approach that could help support Rodgers and the offense.

San Francisco 49ers: San Francisco won its final five games last year after making the switch to Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback. With Garoppolo signed long term and poised to take his 7-0 career record into his first full season as an NFL starter and coach Kyle Shanahan having much more talent in Year 2 at the helm, the Niners could have the pieces to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Free-agent running back Jerick McKinnon should spark the offense, and the defense has some key building blocks in DT DeForest Buckner and LB Reuben Foster. Richard Sherman could provide a defensive boost at cornerback if his Achilles tendon injury is healed.

TRENDING DOWN

Buffalo Bills: The Bills ended the longest playoff drought in North America's four major sports leagues when they made the postseason for the first time since 1999. Repeating that in coach Sean McDermott's second season will be a more difficult trick Todd Davis Jersey , especially with the change made at quarterback this offseason. Tyrod Taylor was traded to Cleveland, leaving either career backup A.J. McCarron or raw rookie Josh Allen as the top two options. Making the playoffs with one of those two at the helm would be a long shot, even in the weaker AFC.

Tennessee Titans: The Titans also ended a playoff drought last season, making the postseason for the first time since 2008 under third-year quarterback Marcus Mariota and coach Mike Mularkey. Even winning a postseason game wasn't enough for Mularkey to keep his job and Tennessee is now retooling under new coach Mike Vrabel. The Titans are in a tough division with Houston and Indianapolis likely taking big steps forward if Watson and Andrew Luck are healthy, and Jacksonville having one of the league's most talented rosters. That makes a return to the postseason a difficult proposition in Tennessee.

Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons took a step back last year after their Super Bowl collapse the previous season but still made the playoffs as a wild-card team. The offense regressed a bit after losing Shanahan as coordinator. There still is plenty of talent in Atlanta led by quarterback Matt Ryan and receiver Julio Jones, but the NFC is stacked, leaving little margin for error.