The start of this Colorado Avalanche season can be broken into three segments, with each of the team’s world-class stars taking turns as the leading driver of a high-power offense.
Mikko Rantanen led the Avalanche with eight goals and 17 points in the first 11 games. Cale Makar had 18 points in the next 10 games. Recently, it’s been Nathan MacKinnon’s turn.
MacKinnon has seven goals and 19 points in the Avs’ past 10 games. He has at least one point in the past 15 games, which ties the longest streak of his career.
The crescendo of his recent dominance arrived Sunday night, when MacKinnon had two goals and two assists in a 6-2 win against the San Jose Sharks.
“I thought he was outstanding tonight,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said after the game. “I thought those guys had a rougher night (Saturday at Winnipeg). Fall behind early, kind of get on our heels right away. Our top guys can have a tendency when they know how the game started and (playing) from behind, they put more pressure on themselves to produce and often that leads to some riskier plays and just not the way we want to play or not the way they generally have success playing either.”
MacKinnon has 27 points during his 15-game streak, and is now second in the NHL with 47. His season began with what would be considered a decent stretch — nine points in 10 games — but was considered a slow start for someone who begins every campaign as a contender for the Hart Trophy.
He hasn’t won a league MVP, but he’s been close before, finishing second twice and third once. Whether it was his “slow” start or some brilliance from both Rantanen and Makar, there wasn’t a lot of chatter about MacKinnon as a Hart candidate, but that narrative has arrived in full force as he’s been a force of nature on the ice for weeks now.
MacKinnon leads all NHL forwards in total time on ice (701:27) and ice time per game (22:37). He leads all NHL players with 33 assists, and has been a force at both even strength (18 assists, tied for second) and on the power play (15, tied for second).
The Avalanche has scored 37 goals when MacKinnon is on the ice at 5-on-5, which is five more than any other forward in the NHL. They have 308 scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick, which also leads the league.
How the Avalanche might arrange its top two lines is often a season-long journey, with plenty of tweaks and twists based on player performance and availability. A common denominator is whoever plays with MacKinnon on the top line is likely to have some success.
Rantanen and Valeri Nichushkin have been MacKinnon’s most common mates on the top line, particularly since Artturi Lehkonen sustained a neck injury that could cost him up to three months. MacKinnon has played 406 minutes at 5-on-5 with Rantanen, 295 minutes with Nichushkin and no more than 111 with any other forward on the roster.
“It’s worked for a few years now,” MacKinnon said of the trio. “Val’s been here for five years now and each year he’s getting better, I feel like. Mikko is Mikko. He’s one of the best players in the world, so it’s easy to play with both of those guys.”
Each of the three scored one of the Avalanche’s first four goals Sunday night, setting an advantage that was never really threatened. That trio has created 14.2 expected goals in nearly 240 minutes together at 5-on-5, per MoneyPuck. It’s the fifth-most of any trio in the NHL. Their expected goals for per 60 minutes are also eighth, among lines with at least 150 minutes together.
“I think we came out with the right intent and those guys led the way,” Bednar said after the win against San Jose. “I thought they were dominant the whole night. The scoring chances that they were creating … were excellent but they were also checking the right way and had a really good north attack mentality.”
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