NHL: Avalanche clinch Presidents’ Trophy with narrow win over Flames

Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas each recorded a goal and two assists as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Calgary Flames 3-1 on Thursday night in Denver, clinching the top overall seed in the NHL postseason.

MacKinnon set a new career high with his 52nd goal of the season, while Gabriel Landeskog also scored for Colorado. Mackenzie Blackwood made 28 saves as the Avalanche improved to 54-16-10 for 114 points, securing the Presidents’ Trophy for the fourth time since relocating to Colorado.

The Avalanche now cannot be caught in the overall standings. The Carolina Hurricanes, who sit at 108 points, could match Colorado’s total, but the Avalanche hold the tiebreaker after winning the season series 1-0-1.

Colorado previously finished with the league’s top regular-season record in 1996-97, 2000-01, and 2020-21.

For Calgary, Tyson Gross scored his first NHL goal in just his third career game, while Dustin Wolf stopped 38 shots in a losing effort. The Flames dropped to 32-37-9 with 73 points and have now lost four of their last five games.

The Avalanche were without center Nazem Kadri, who is recovering from a finger injury suffered in Tuesday’s 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Head coach Jared Bednar said before the game that he expects Kadri to return before the end of the regular season.

The game was scoreless until late in the first period when Calgary’s John Beecher took a hooking penalty. On the ensuing power play, MacKinnon delivered a cross-crease pass to Landeskog, who tapped in the opening goal at 18:44.

Necas extended the lead late in the second period after a quick passing sequence with MacKinnon, finishing with a lifted shot over a sprawling Dustin Wolf at 15:01. The goal marked Necas’ 38th of the season, setting a new career high.

Calgary pushed back late in the third period. With 3:46 remaining, Gross scored to cut the deficit to 2-1 after Wolf was pulled for an extra attacker. Gross appeared to tie the game moments later, but the goal was disallowed following a successful offside challenge by Colorado.

MacKinnon sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final minute, extending his NHL goal-scoring lead and securing the Avalanche’s division-clinching victory. -Field Level Media/Reuters