NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Equal parts optimism and realism, the Colorado Avalanche know their road to a Western Conference playoff spot remains steep.

But Monday night's 4-3 win over the surging Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena at least allows Colorado to dream the unlikely dream of catching the Minnesota Wild for the conference's last wild-card spot.

In upping their record to 39-33-4, the Avalanche scored three goals in a 5:04 span of the first period, got a critical insurance goal from center Shawn Matthias in the third period and then hung on against a furious Nashville assault in the last five minutes.

Colorado remains three points behind Minnesota with six games left, including two this week against St. Louis and a Friday night home date with Presidents' Trophy winner Washington.

"It was a chance for us to prove we could play a strong game," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "All year long, we've been resilient after losses and we've been strong on the road."

That held up again as Colorado improved its mark away from Pepsi Center to 22-16-0 while preventing the Predators (39-24-13) from clinching a playoff berth. The Avalanche also became the first team to hand Nashville a regulation home loss since Feb. 9.

Not that the Predators went down meekly. With probably a quarter of the 16,443 fans already in their cars after Matthias made it 4-1 at 12:13, Nashville produced two markers in 24 seconds. Center Colton Sissons tipped home a slapper from right winger Miikka Salomaki at 14:58, and defenseman Roman Josi beat goalie Semyon Varlamov with a wrister from the blue line.

But Varlamov shut it down in the last 4 1/2 minutes, finishing with 32 saves. His two biggest came in the final three minutes, as he stoned center Mike Ribeiro on a chance in the slot and turned away right winger James Neal on a wrister from the bottom of the right faceoff circle with a sixth attacker on the ice.

"That was a hell of a game by us," Varlamov said. "We didn't sit back with a lead like we sometimes do. They had their chances for a fourth goal, but we deserved those two points."

Colorado controlled most of the game, driving Predators goalie Pekka Rinne to the bench with a quick flurry midway through the opening period.

Left winger Blake Comeau got things started with his 12th goal at 6:36, jumping on a brutal giveaway by defenseman Mattias Ekholm and scoring from the high slot.

Left winger Gabriel Landeskog's deflection of a centering pass by center Carl Soderberg made it 2-0 at 10:10.

Right winger Jack Skille capped the outburst with his first goal since Jan. 8 -- also against Nashville -- as he tipped home a shot by left winger Cody McLeod. At that point, Predators coach Peter Laviolette hooked Rinne mid-game for the first time this season.

"We just weren't doing the right things as a team and I thought we needed to change things up a little bit," Laviolette said.

Nashville derived some momentum after the switch, pulling within 3-1 as right winger Craig Smith potted his 20th goal at 17:08 of the first. It appeared to close the gap to a goal when Salomaki's bad-angle wrister squirted through Varlamov's legs at 17:17 of the second period.

But on the advice of video coordinator Brett Heimlich, Roy challenged the goal on the basis of the Predators being offsides. After a lengthy review, the goal was nullified.

"That was on me," Varlamov said. "It was a bad goal. I'm glad the coaching staff helped me out. Sometimes, the coaches' challenge can change a game."

Backup goalie Carter Hutton stopped 16 of 17 shots for Nashville, but was tagged with the loss after yielding Matthias' goal. Rinne made seven saves on 10 shots.

NOTES: Harvard LW Jimmy Vesey's representatives informed Nashville that he intends to test free agency on Aug. 15 when the team's rights to him run out. A third-round pick of the Predators in 2012, Vesey collected 80 goals and 64 assists in his four years with the Crimson. Nashville GM David Poile said Vesey was promised a top-six forward spot for the season's final two weeks and playoffs. ... Colorado Cs Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon remain out with knee injuries, although Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said Duchene skated on his own Sunday. ... Nashville D Anthony Bitetto (lower body) missed his fifth straight game. ... Colorado shipped LW Mikko Rantanen to its AHL affiliate in San Antonio, allowing it to preserve the first year of his three-year entry-level contract. Rantanen went scoreless in nine games, and the club would have lost the first year had he played in a 10th game. ... D Andrew Bodnarchuk and D Eric Gelinas were healthy scratches for the Avalanche.