Avalanche clinch Central Division in season finale, defeat Predators

The Colorado Avalanche clinched the Central Division when Nathan MacKinnon completed a hat trick with 1:42 left in the third period for a 4-3 win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Friday.

After the Avalanche blew a two-goal lead, MacKinnon put them back in front when he finished a 2-on-1 with Mikko Rantanen from the right face-off circle for the 4-3 final.
"I thought overall we outplayed them, but our offense kind of dried up in the second there," MacKinnon said. "[We] weren't shooting enough pucks, being aggressive enough, but in the third we came out really strong, I thought. Had some good chances and finally got one."

Colorado (51-24-7) finished the regular season one point ahead of the Dallas Stars and will face the Seattle Kraken in the Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"To win the division, I know it doesn't really mean a ton usually, but I feel like this year it means a little bit more. We battled hard to be here," MacKinnon said. "It will be tough, very tough.
"[The Kraken] work hard. They've given us trouble this season, so we're going to [have to] be at our best to beat them."
MacKinnon had four points, and Devon Toews had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche. Alexandar Georgiev made 18 saves for his 40th win of the season, tying Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins for the League lead.
"I think these guys put their heart and soul into this season," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "To be able to sort of accomplish our regular-season goal of winning the division and securing home ice, if we're fortunate enough to make it into the second round, it's a feather in their cap, no question. And we should feel good about our game going into the playoffs."
Kiefer Sherwood had two goals, and Luke Evangelista scored for Nashville (42-32-8). Kevin Lankinen made 30 saves.
"It's the NHL. Your job is to be able to win and be competitive, regardless of what the circumstances are, and to me that's what I think the coaches and players, together, embraced," Predators coach John Hynes said. "You can't look for a different situation and want something different and complain about what's going on. You have to find what are the actions and attitudes and mindsets that we have to have to give ourselves a chance to be successful in this situation, and that was the challenge."
Toews gave Colorado a 1-0 lead just 28 seconds into the first period when his wrist shot from the blue line caromed off the leg of Nashville defenseman Dante Fabbro and past Lankinen.
MacKinnon made it 2-0 at 3:20. He stick-handled his way to the net from the left boards and fired the puck far side for his 40th goal of the season.
"He was a man on a mission tonight, you could tell," Bednar said of MacKinnon. "They scored their first two shifts, almost scored again on their third shift. He was a part of everything we generated on the offensive side of it tonight. For him to come out on a night like this and have the legs that he did and play with the determination that he played with and then get the hat trick is pretty special."

Sherwood cut it to 2-1 at 5:42, scoring with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle.
MacKinnon gave the Avalanche a 3-1 lead at 13:14. He split two defenders, drove the net on a breakaway, and went forehand to backhand.
"I'm trying to just get better," MacKinnon said. "Obviously, [I] had some good looks tonight and managed to find the back of the net. I thought a lot of guys created a lot of space for me."
Evangelista cut it to 3-2 when he received a cross-zone pass from Tommy Novak and fired a wrist shot from the right circle at 2:32 of the second period.
Sherwood tied it 3-3 on a power play at 7:08, a one-timer from between the circles after a feed from Yakov Trenin.
"It's kind of a summary of the season, right? Things don't always go to plan, but we buckled down and came out and responded well and gave [ourselves] a chance to win at the end," Sherwood said. "It shows the character of the group to fight until the end."

NOTES: MacKinnon and Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard were each plus-4 … Colorado extended its franchise-record road winning streak to 11 games and tied the New Jersey Devils (11, Oct. 20-Dec. 3, 2022) for the second-longest run in NHL history; the Detroit Red Wings (2006) and Minnesota Wild (2015) each won 12 in a row. … Georgiev won his eighth straight road game to set the Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques record for the longest road win streak by a goalie. … Nashville defenseman Tyson Barrie played his 85th NHL game this season, the most in the League. He played 61 with the Edmonton Oilers and 24 with the Predators. … Fabbro was minus-4 in 21:10 of ice time.