DENVER (AP) -- Pekka Rinne stopped 32 shots to lift the Nashville Predators to a 5-1 win Thursday night over a Colorado Avalanche squad that learned hours earlier that forward Tomas Fleischmann would be out for the rest of the season with blood clots in his lungs.
Sergei Kostitsyn, Cody Franson, Matt Halischuk, David Legwand and Colin Wilson scored for the surging Predators, who have won nine of 11.
Rinne came up big all night, but his shutout bid ended when Matt Duchene scored with 3:37 remaining.
It was a difficult day for the Avs as Fleischmann, one of their top scorers, was diagnosed with two blood clots, one in each of his lungs. He complained of shortness of breath following the morning skate.
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