MacKinnon has hat trick as Avalanche win Central Division

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon had three goals and an assist, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 on Friday night to win the Central Division title.

Devon Toews also scored and had an assist and Alexandar Georgiev made 18 saves for Colorado, which finished a point ahead of Dallas in the division. Mikko Rantanen had two assists.

Kiefer Sherwood scored twice, Luke Evangelista added one and Kevin Lankinen made 30 saves for the Predators.

MacKinnon's first hat trick of the season and fourth of his career gave him 42 goals for the season.

The reigning Stanley Cup-winning Avalanche will begin their championship defense against Seattle in the first round of the playoffs.

SABRES 5, BLUE JACKETS 2

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Jeff Skinner had a goal and two assists, lifting Buffalo past Columbus in the season finale for both teams.

Casey Mittelstadt had a goal and an assist, and Victor Olofsson, Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs also scored for Buffalo. Devon Levi stopped 29 shots for the Sabres, who were eliminated from playoff contention for the 12th straight season, the longest active postseason drought in the NHL.

Johnny Gaudreau and Tyler Angler scored for Columbus, which ended its season in 31st place and are guaranteed one of the top four picks in the NHL Draft. Jon Gillies stopped 24 shots before being replaced in this third period by Michael Hutchinson, who finished with seven saves.

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