Avalanche Game 33 Recap: The Nathan MacKinnon Show

I repeat: Put Nathan MacKinnon's name on the Hart Trophy already!

Following the team's loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Colorado Avalanche returned home for the holidays (well, close to it) for the first meeting against the Ottawa Senators. A little bit about the Sens; it's been hell for them at this point, and they just hired a new coach---well, sort of. Jacques Martin, who coach the Sens from 1996-2004, and coached them to the Eastern Conference Final in 2003, returned to the helm, with Sens legend Daniel Alfredsson as the assistant.

Alexandar Georgiev was in net against Joonas Korpisalo, and within two minutes, the Avs were put on the power play, though the penalty was delayed for a good bit. The Avs were able to capitalize on the PP; Nathan MacKinnon with the goal to continue his points streak--17 games. Just amazing as hell. The Avs dominated the shots for the most part, but would find themselves shorthanded late in the period. Josh Norris tied it up on the power play, and just 13 seconds later, Ridly Greig made it 2-1 for Ottawa, and that puck went off the back of Devon Toews--the same Devon Toews who decided to bury his teammates publicly. Exactly three minutes later, MacKinnon scored again, his 50th point of the season already (he's definitely getting 100).

2-2 was the score after 20 minutes, but Jacob Bernard-Docker broke that tie 92 seconds into the 2nd period. The Avs had a power play later on, it was killed off--the only Avs PP to be knocked off. Colorado was pressing for the tie, but Ottawa would score again; Drake Batherson made it 4-2 for the Senators, and it looked dire for the Avs. It definitely looked like Colorado was on the verge of suffering another loss to a struggling team, but just then, the Avs had a late power play. Colorado needed to capitalize, and at 19:43, it was Mikko Rantanen who made it 4-3, which was the score after 40 minutes.

The third period was wild and crazy. Batherson was in the box for holding the stick, the Avs power play was moving very well. As soon as MacKinnon got the puck, I shouted "Hat Trick!" There it was right after. MacKinnon gets the hattie; the first by an Avs player this season, and it ties the game at four. Jacques Martin decided to challenge for offsides, but after a review that went longer than it should have, the goal counted. So the Avs were back on the power play, and it was Mikko Rantanen again, giving Colorado a 5-4 lead. What followed was the refs continuously sending Avs players to the box--three straight penalties. I swear there was something fishy about that. Nevertheless, the Avs killed all of the penalties, and with about 80 seconds left in regulation, Korpisalo was pulled for the extra attacker. I was pulling for the Avs to get the puck to Rantanen so he would have a hattie as well. Instead, MacKinnon ended up with it, and with no teammates near him, he shoots it in the empty net. Four goals. A four goal game for MacKinnon, and the Avs went on to win 6-4!

Nathan MacKinnon made history with his performance. Let's start with the milestone he reached. His second goal of the game was his 300th of his career; becoming the fifth player in the combined history of the Nordiques/Avalanche to reach 300 goals, joining a list that includes Joe Sakic, Michel Goulet, Peter Stastny, and Milan Hejduk. He also became the first Avalanche player to score four goals in a game since the team moved to Denver in 1995. In addition, MacKinnon's five point performance (he assisted on Rantanen's game-winning goal) moves him closer to Nikita Kucherov for the points lead. Seriously, this is an MVP season for MacKinnon. He is long overdue for a Hart Trophy. This year is definitely the year he gets it.

The Avalanche's win over the Senators is #20 of the season out of 33 games, putting the team on pace for another 50+ win season. Next up for the Avalanche is a home-and-home set against the Arizona Coyotes, which starts on Saturday at Ball Arena and concludes on Wednesday in Tempe.

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