NHL roundup: Avs advance with sweep of Predators

Cale Makar and Andre Burakovsky each had a goal and two assists Monday as the Colorado Avalanche completed a sweep of the Nashville Predators with a 5-3 road victory in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series.

The top overall seed in the Western Conference, Colorado became the first team to advance to the second round of this year's playoffs. The Predators, meanwhile, suffered the first postseason sweep in franchise history.

Makar led all players with 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in the series, setting an NHL record for most points by a defenseman over the first four games in one postseason. Nathan MacKinnon scored into an empty net for Colorado, and J.T. Compher had two assists.

Avalanche goalie Pavel Francouz stopped 28 of 31 shots. Francouz got the nod in place of regular starter Darcy Kuemper, who sustained an eye injury in Game 3. Yakov Trenin scored the Predators' first two goals, with Colton Sissons assisting on both tallies. Connor Ingram saved 33 of 37 shots.

Penguins 7, Rangers 2

Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists Monday to reach 200 career playoff points and help host Pittsburgh take a 3-1 lead over New York in their first-round Eastern Conference series.

Jake Guentzel added a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who scored five goals in the second period. Mike Matheson, Mark Friedman, Danton Heinen, Jeff Carter and Evgeni Malkin scored while Kris Letang had two assists. Pittsburgh goaltender Louis Domingue made 22 saves.

Alexis Lafreniere and Adam Fox scored for the Rangers. New York goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who was pulled following one period in Game 3, was yanked after the second period on Monday. He gave up six goals on 30 shots. Sub Alexandar Georgiev stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced.

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