In Nashville, Nathan MacKinnon‘s hat trick goal came with 1:42 left m registration on Saturday night to give the Colorado Avalanche a 4-3 win over the Predators. 
The win, in the NHL’s final regular season match, clinched the Central Division Crown, one point clear of the Dallas Stars.
“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.”
Mikko Rantanen intercepted a pass in the defensive and lead MacKinnon on a 2-on-1 break.
“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.”
The Avs finished the season 51-24-7.
“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.”
Alexandar Georgiev made 18 saves in the win.
“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.”
Nashville finished campaign at 42-32-8).
The Avs took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Devon Toews, with just 28 seconds of fresh ice use in the first period.
MacKinnon scored at 3:20 to double the lead to 2-0.
“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.”
Kiefer Sherwood, who had a double on the night, trimmed the deficit to 2-1, for Nashville.
MacKinnon gave the Avs a 3-1 lead late in the first .
“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.”
Luke Evangelista and Sherwood (power play) tied the game in the middle frame, 3-3.
Kevin Lankinen made 30 saves in the loss.
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