Predators no match for Colorado

In Nashville, the Colorado Avalanche trailed by one, 3-2, in the third period before striking for three goals in a 5-3 win on Monday night.

The win secured a sweep of the Predators.

“You enjoy it quickly,” Colorado’s Cale Makar said. “This is just step one. You enjoy it for a little bit but then you move on. Obviously, we don’t know who our opponent is yet, but it’s going to be a familiar team.

“For us, it’s already to that next step. We’re where we want it to be, but we have to make sure that we can stay tight throughout this little break that we have.”

Makar had a goal in the rally.

“He might be the best player in the League right now,” the Avs; Nathan MacKinnon said. “The way he dominates from the back end is amazing. All season, but this playoff season, he’s taken another step with his leadership in the room, being more vocal. And obviously on the ice, he’s so dominant. He might be one of the best [defensemen] to ever play by the end of his career at this rate.”

Pavel Francouz made 28 saves in the win.

“I thought [we had] really good focus throughout the series,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “Pretty good consistency. This was our toughest game for sure. We made a few mistakes that they capitalized on, but again good resilience from our team to stick with it. … We were able to grind out a win on the road in a tough building, good team, all-around positive experience for our guys.”

Nashville’s Yakov Trenin hit for a double for the Predators, and Colton Sissons added a single marker in the loss.

“That’s certainly disappointing,” Predators coach John Hynes said. “That’s for sure. You come in and you work for 82 games to be able to get in the playoffs. Unfortunately, this series didn’t go the way we wanted it to go. The fact we weren’t able to win a game is something that we all take personally, I’m sure.”