It was the fifth time this season that Colorado has scored on its first shot of the game but Nashville ended the opening period with a 16-6 edge in shots on goal.
“The first period was horrendous,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “We got one good forecheck, one shot on goal that gave us the lead and then we didn’t check anybody. It looked like we were only competitive when we got the puck or when we were chasing down the forecheck. We definitely improved in the second period, got our checking game in order a little bit, but we still never got to where we probably needed to at any point during the game.”
MacKinnon scored an empty-net goal on his only shot of the game to make it 2-0 at 18:25 of the third period on a pass from Brock Nelson. Jack Drury added another empty-net goal at 19:10 of the third period.
Predators defenseman Roman Josi returned to the lineup after missing 12 games because of an upper-body injury. The Nashville captain finished with four shots on goal and eight shot attempts in 19:40 of ice time.
“I felt good,” Josi said. “It was nice to be back. I’ve been skating for a while now, which was good to get my legs going. It was nice to be back. When you’re injured, it’s tough watching from afar.”
NOTES: Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar failed to record a point on the road for the first time this season. … Colorado’s eight-game winning streak is tied with the New Jersey Devils for the longest in the NHL this season. … Burns became the second defenseman in NHL history to score multiple game-winning goals in a season at age 40 or older, following Zdeno Chara (three times). … Burns scored his 44th career game-winning goal and tied Al MacInnis and Denis Potvin for third most by a defenseman in NHL history, behind Ray Bourque (60) and Phil Housley (49).