Kings of the Central

82 of 82.
What a season and what a regular-season finale. In a season filled with adversity, the Colorado Avalanche have continued to find ways to dig deep and prevail. Friday night was no different in the regular-season finale against the Nashville Predators with a two-point victory needed in order to clinch the Central Division.

The Avalanche did just that. With a resilient effort, the Avalanche were crowned Kings of the Central after their 4-3 win over the Predators and now will take on the Seattle Kraken in the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning on Tuesday night at Ball Arena.
Game 82 featured an extraordinary effort from Nathan MacKinnon, who led the charge as the centerman scored his sixth-career hat trick, while Devon Toews (1G, 1A) also lit the lamp. In net, Alexandar Georgiev was sensational as he made his second-straight start in the second-half of a back-to-back and turned aside 18 of the 21 shots he faced to earn his 40th win of the season, which is tied for the most in the NHL with Boston's Linus Ullmark.
For the Predators, Kiefer Sherwood scored twice - including once on the power play - while Luke Evangelista also found the back of the net. In between the pipes, Kevin Lankinen made 30 saves on 34 shots.

GAME SUMMARY:

With a two-point victory needed to clinch the Central Division and secure home ice for at least the first two rounds of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Avalanche understood the stakes.
But the match up was the second leg of a back-to-back set - after defeating Winnipeg 4-2 the night prior in Denver - and after suffering continuous injuries to the lineup.
Even so, the Avalanche did what they have all season long, they embraced the challenge, no matter how grueling. After giving up a two-goal lead, the Avalanche persisted and secured a statement win to cap the regular season.
"It should mean a lot to these guys," Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar said. "These guys have put their heart and soul into this regular season, getting stronger and stronger as the year's gone on and against whatever adversities we faced. We've had different guys step up at different times and our leaders have been outstanding. So to be able to sort of accomplish our regular season goal, winning the division and securing home ice - if we're fortunate enough to make the second round - it's a feather in their cap, no question that we should feel good."
Knowing what was at stake depending on the outcome of the game, the Avalanche got off to a dominant start after taking a 3-1 lead and an 18-4 shot advantage. The first period was a clinical effort from the Avalanche, who smothered the Predators with their relentless forecheck and opportunistic offense and were able to score all three goals at even strength, despite going 0-for-2 on the power play in the opening frame.
Colorado broke the ice just 28 seconds into play and on the first shot of the game. MacKinnon sent a low-to-high pass to Toews, who took his space and wired a point shot on net. En route, the shot deflected off Dante Fabbro's leg and beat Lankinen. Just 2:52 later, Colorado doubled its lead as MacKinnon netted his first of two extraordinary efforts to find the back of the net.

The centerman snatched a pass from Toews, stickhandled into the slot and from the netfront, lifted his shot past Lankinen at 3:20.

Nashville did manage to light the lamp at 5:42 to trim their deficit down 2-1. Evangelista won a wall battle as he pinched a puck rimming along the boards. Sherwood picked up the loose puck, skated into the right faceoff circle and sniped his shot high blocker side of Georgiev.
Colorado continued to dominate play despite having an unsuccessful power play at 6:37 (Yakov Trenin for interference).
But MacKinnon came through at 13:14 with yet another highlight-reel goal. After securing a spring pass from Samuel Girard, MacKinnon carried the puck into the offensive zone, took on both Predators defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Dante Fabbro, barreled his way between them, then implemented a forehand-to-backhand toe drag before popping his shot over Lankinen's blocker to give the Avalanche a 3-1 lead.

Late in the frame Colorado received another power play opportunity at 14:54, but failed to convert.
Colorado's dominant effort in the first period didn't carry over into the second frame and instead, the Predators came out with a responsive effort to tie the score up 3-3 and stage a dramatic third period.
Early on, Nashville trimmed it down to a one-goal game off a quick transition play. Tommy Novak threaded a cross-ice pass to Evangelista. From inside of the right faceoff circle, Evangelista fired his shot just under the crossbar at 2:32.
The Avalanche then took their first penalty of the game at 5:50 as Kurtis MacDermid was called for tripping and the Predators converted. After cycling the puck around the offensive zone, Trenin sent a feed into the slot for Sherwood, who buried the one timer for his second goal of the game and for the 3-3 equalizer at 7:08.
The Avalanche took another penalty at 15:45 (Evan Rodrigues for slashing), but killed it off and even generated a shorthanded chance, but Logan O'Connor's shot was denied by Lankinen. Colorado finished the second period having been outshot 8-5.
The third period continued to be a stalemate as the Predators muddled the Avalanche's offense with their stingy play. Colorado continued to push, but their attempts were repeatedly blocked by Nashville - who blocked a total 22 shots in the game.
As the clock continued to wind down and the frustrations grew, MacKinnon seized the moment. Georgiev had just come up with a sensational stop on Ryan McDonagh on the doorstep and denied a chance on another Predators look, but then the opportunity broke for a two-on-one rush. Rantanen and MacKinnon jetted up the ice, where Rantanen handed his teammate the puck in the neutral zone. MacKinnon - who was a "Man on a mission" according to Bednar - skated into the right circle and wired a low wrist shot past Lankinen for the 4-3 victory.

NOTEWORTHY:

• Toews scored his seventh goal of the season.
• MacKinnon tallied his 40th, 41st and 42nd goals of the season as he established a new career high in goals. The centerman had previously reached the 40-goal mark during the 2018-19 season. The hat trick was MacKinnon's sixth of his career.
• The Avalanche were without Denis Malgin and Andrew Cogliano (upper body), who both sustained injuries on Thursday night against Winnipeg. In their places, Ben Meyers and Alex Galchenyuk drew in the lineup. Galchenyuk was recalled from the Colorado Eagles and returned to the lineup for the first time since March 24.
• Georgiev made his 62nd start of the season for the Avalanche, while his record improved his record to 40-16-6.
• Colorado finished the game 0-for-4 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill.
• Brad Hunt, Cogliano (upper body), Malgin (undisclosed), Darren Helm (lower-body injury) Cale Makar (lower-body injury) and Josh Manson (lower body) were scratches for the Avalanche.

NEXT GAME:

The Avalanche will look to defend the Stanley Cup as the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the First Round as they host Seattle at Ball Arena. The puck drops between the Avs and Kraken at 8 p.m. MT.