Avalanche MacKinnon Nets 2 Goals in Rapid Burst

Nathan MacKinnon lit up the ice with two quick goals in the first period, giving the Colorado Avalanche an early edge over the Edmonton Oilers in a crucial Western Conference matchup.

The NHL’s current points leader needed just 10 minutes to make his mark, taking a sweet pass from Jonathan Drouin before cutting to the middle and firing one past Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner.

He wasn’t done there.

Less than two minutes later, MacKinnon showed off his incredible skill again, dancing around Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard to make it 3-0 Avalanche.

But the Oilers weren’t going down without a fight. They stormed back with three straight goals, tying things up at 3-3 through two periods.

Both teams have been on fire lately after struggling early in the season. The Avalanche have won nine of their last 12, while Edmonton’s been even hotter, going 18-4-1 after a rough 10-9-2 start.

For MacKinnon, it was his first two-goal game since December 3rd when he helped the Avs beat Buffalo 5-4. Pretty impressive considering he’s already racked up 50 multi-goal games in his Avalanche career – good for fifth place in team history.

“I think I’m a better playmaker than I was two years ago,” MacKinnon told ESPN’s Leah Hextall during the first intermission. “I think a lot of my play stems off of that.”

He’s not kidding. MacKinnon’s leading the league with 70 points this season, including 15 goals and 55 assists. That’s coming off an incredible 2023-24 season where he put up 140 points and took home the Hart Trophy as league MVP.

“Obviously, I have a couple tonight, but they haven’t been easy to get this year,” he added. “My playmaking’s been pretty consistent overall.”