Nathan MacKinnon’s offensive output was spectacular, but his defense, leadership were on display as well
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon takes a moment as the hats fly after his hat trick goal against the Minnesota Wild during the second period at Ball Arena in Denver on Tuesday, April 09, 2024. His coach called it “pretty much as dominant of a performance as you can have in my books” … and then immediately began talking about MacKinnon’s defense.
The consistency and volume of MacKinnon’s production this season is what will fuel his candidacy for the Hart Memorial Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award — the NHL’s two most valuable player awards. His 51 goals and 137 points, the two 19-game point streaks and Colorado’s dominance when No. 29 is on the ice at 5-on-5 are the foundation of the argument.
It became a focus against the Wild, and the Avalanche produced a suffocating effort at even strength. The Avs played 45:32 at 5-on-5 against the Wild. They allowed, per Natural Stat Trick, six scoring chances and one high-danger chance. Minnesota created 0.51 expected goals at 5-on-5. These were all season-best numbers for the club, after just yielding three of the five-worst in the previous three games.
“He’s proved a lot of people wrong, I think,” MacKinnon said. “Just really happy for him. All the work he’s put in this season — he gets better every week, it seems like right now. It’s fun to watch him work every day.”Keeler: If Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev turns into Alexandar Four-giev vs. Minnesota Wild, it might be time to pull the plug
His style of leadership, and the standard he sets for everyone with the Avalanche, is a critical part of the team’s success.
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