The long regular season is over.
The Colorado Avalanche closed it out with a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Friday night.
With the game having no bearing on the Avs finish in the standing, head coach Jared Bednar held out a number of top players.
Minnesota scored two goals in the first period then added a third 3:46 into the second period to take a 3-0 lead.
The only goal for the Avalanche came at 5:38 of the second when Nazem Kadri scored.
Colorado finishes the regular season with a 56-19-7 record and a franchise record 119 points, tops in the Western Conference and second in the NHL behind Florida's 122 points.
The Avalanche will take on the Nashville Predators in the first round of the playoffs.
The schedule for the series:
Game 1 - Tuesday, May 3 @ Colorado, 7:30 p.m. MDT
Game 2 - Thursday, May 5 @ Colorado, 7:30 p.m. MDT
Game 3 - Saturday, May 7 @ Nashville, 2:30 p.m. MDT
Game 4 - Monday, May 9 @ Nashville, 7:30 p.m. MDT
Game 5 (if nec.) - Wednesday, May 11 @ Colorado, TBD
Game 6 (if nec.) - Friday, May 13 @ Nashville, TBD
Game 7 (if nec.) - Sunday, May 15 @ Colorado, TBD
Postgame comments from Avs goalie Pavel Francouz and head coach Jared Bednar.
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