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DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche have spent far too much time this season cleaning up their own messes.

Defensive breakdowns, careless turnovers, and too many nights asking their goaltenders to bail them out have become familiar problems. Thursday night against Nashville, however, offered a much-needed response. The Avalanche still lost 3-2 in overtime, but this time, there was something worth taking away from the effort.

That’s not to say Colorado played a perfect game. Far from it. The opening period was another reminder of just how quickly things can unravel when the Avalanche get careless defensively. Nashville scored on its first shot of the night, courtesy of former Avalanche forward Ross Colton, and spent much of the opening frame making Colorado pay for its mistakes.

Jaden Schwartz answered with a blistering one-timer off a feed from Martin Necas, but the Avalanche continued to struggle with puck management and defensive coverage. By the time the first intermission arrived, Nashville had generated nine high-danger scoring chances. Colorado had some serious cleaning up to do.

And, for once, it actually did.

After allowing nine high-danger chances in the first period, the Avalanche surrendered just one over the final 40 minutes. They were more committed to their defensive assignments, did a better job protecting the middle of the ice, and stopped giving Nashville the kind of easy opportunities that had plagued them in their previous meetings.

Head coach Jared Bednar noticed the difference.

“I think there’s no doubt in my mind that we played harder and more committed on the defending side,” the Avalanche head coach said following the game.

Bednar acknowledged that Colorado was sloppy with the puck early, but felt his team settled into the game as the second period progressed.

HC Jared Bednar on the Avs’ effort in OT loss to the Predators:

“Got to be happy with the effort. There’s definitely some things that we can improve on, but I like the fact that we played hard and competed hard…”#GoAvsGo | #McRibpic.twitter.com/3rbdrA5fWO

— Guerilla Sports (@guerillasports) November 6, 2026

“I thought we settled in a little bit (in the second period). We did a nice job when we were checking, and then it was trading some scoring chances here and there.”

It was an encouraging assessment from a coach who has watched his team struggle to put together complete performances. Bednar wasn’t pretending everything was suddenly fixed, either. He made it clear there were still things to clean up, but he liked the commitment and competitiveness his players showed.

Following Tuesday’s 7-2 beatdown at the hands of the Blue Jackets, Bednar said he would be changing his coaching approach with the team. Whatever that change was, it seemed to have helped.”

Cale Makar and Devon Toews also recognized the effort, although another loss certainly wasn’t what either defenseman wanted to be talking about afterward.

Makar felt the team had put together a good performance, pointing to the work ethic and the way players committed to their responsibilities. He also acknowledged that sometimes the bounces simply don’t go your way.

“I felt like we had a really good game,” Makar said.

Toews, meanwhile, pointed to the team’s ability to find its footing after falling behind yet again.

“I felt like we had some good momentum earlier. Again, just by bouncing started behind again, but found a way to crawl back,” Toews said.

That last part is worth paying attention to. Colorado has had too many games this season where an early setback turns into a complete unraveling. Thursday wasn’t one of them.

Parker Kelly helped bring the Avalanche back with a terrific finish on a two-on-one rush early in the second period, tying the game at 2-2. Mackenzie Blackwood also did his part, stopping 22 of 25 shots and making several important saves to keep Colorado in the game.

Justus Annunen deserves credit, too. The former Avalanche goaltender stopped 30 of 32 shots and made life difficult for a Colorado offense that generated plenty of opportunities but couldn’t find the finishing touch.

The power play remains an issue. The Avalanche still seem too interested in finding the perfect shot instead of taking advantage of the opportunities sitting right in front of them. T.J. Hughes had a particularly frustrating chance in the second period when he hesitated on a potential one-timer, allowing Nashville to recover and eventually kill off the penalty.

Those are the kinds of moments that can swing games, especially against a team that isn’t giving you much defensively.

Then came overtime. Toews was called for hooking Steven Stamkos during a sequence that could have gone either way. Toews did hook Stamkos and tried to get out of it. However, Stamkos made the smart veteran play by holding Toews’ stick in long enough to get the call. Nashville wasted no time and it was none other than Stamkos who buried the game-winner to hand Colorado a third straight loss to the Predators.

It’s a frustrating ending, especially after watching the Avalanche work their way back into a game that could have gotten away from them early. But I’m not walking away from Thursday feeling the same way I did after those previous Nashville losses.

There is still plenty to fix. Colorado cannot keep digging itself into holes in the opening period, and the power play needs to be more decisive. But the defensive response was real, and that’s something this group needs to carry into its next game.

The Avalanche have shown they can score. They’ve shown they have goaltending. What they need now is the willingness to defend with the same urgency every night, not just after spending 20 minutes chasing the game.

Colorado gets another shot on Saturday at home against the Detroit Red Wings.