The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Nashville Predators 4-3 on Friday to secure first place in the Central Division.

Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-winner with under two minutes remaining to cap the hat trick.

The Avs will now square off against the Seattle Kraken, the Western Conference's first wild-card team, in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Central's No. 2 seed Dallas Stars will meet with the division's No. 3 seed Minnesota Wild in the opening round.

The rest of the postseason matchups were determined Thursday.

The victory marks the third straight division title for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

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