MacKinnon scores point in 14th straight for Avalanche to start postseason

Nathan MacKinnon extended his postseason-opening point streak to 14 games for the Colorado Avalanche in a 4-1 win against the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference Second Round at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Wednesday.

The center had an assist on Mikko Rantanen's third-period goal to tie Mark Messier of the Edmonton Oilers (1988) and Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins (1970) for the second-longest postseason-opening point streak in NHL history. Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders holds the record for the longest such streak; he scored in all 18 of the Islanders' Stanley Cup Playoff games in 1981.
MacKinnon, who also scored an empty-net goal, leads the NHL in postseason scoring with 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists). He will look to extend the streak to 15 games when the Avalanche play the Stars in Game 7 on Friday. The time has yet to be determined.
The only other NHL player with a point streak of at least 14 games in the postseason in the past 25 years is Eric Staal, who scored 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) during a 15-game streak for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.
Here's a game-by-game look at MacKinnon's streak:
Western Conference Round-Robin, Game 1: Colorado Avalanche 2, St. Louis Blues 1 --It took a video review for MacKinnon to be credited with his first point of the postseason. He had an assist on center Nazem Kadri's game-winning power-play goal that was scored with 0.1 seconds remaining in the third period. Totals: 1 GP, one assist, one point.
Western Conference Round-Robin, Game 2: Colorado Avalanche 4, Dallas Stars 0 --The Avalanche had no problem defeating the Stars to go 2-for-2 in the round-robin. MacKinnon contributed an assist on a goal by forward Vladislav Namestnikov at 17:30 of the second period that gave Colorado a 3-0 lead. Totals: 2 GP, two assists, two points.
Western Conference Round-Robin, Game 3: -- MacKinnon scored his first goal of the postseason when he beat Vegas goalie Robin Lehner during a power play at 6:46 of the second period. The goal tied the game 1-1, but Colorado lost in overtime and finished No. 2 in the four-team round-robin. Totals: 3 GP, one goal, two assists, three points.
Western Conference First Round, Game 1: Colorado Avalanche 3, Arizona Coyotes 0 --Neither team scored for more than 53 minutes before the Avalanche's three-goal burst in a span of 1:23 put the game away. MacKinnon assisted on a power-play goal by Kadri at 13:05 of the third period that put Colorado ahead 1-0 and on Rantanen's goal at 14:28 that completed the scoring. Totals: 4 GP, one goal, four assists, five points.
Western Conference First Round, Game 2: Colorado Avalanche 3, Arizona Coyotes 2 --MacKinnon opened the scoring 3:40 into the first period when he picked up the puck in the neutral zone, raced down left wing and beat Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper with a perfect wrist shot to the top right corner. The goal, MacKinnon's second of the postseason, gave Colorado a 1-0 lead. Totals: 5 GP, two goals, four assists, six points.
Western Conference First Round, Game 3: Arizona Coyotes 4, Colorado Avalanche 2 --Kuemper frustrated the Avalanche by making 49 saves, but MacKinnon extended his point streak to six games when he assisted on a goal by Rantanen with 57 seconds remaining that made it 3-2. He didn't score a goal, but it wasn't for lack of trying; MacKinnon had seven shots on goal. Totals: 6 GP, two goals, five assists, seven points.
Western Conference First Round, Game 4: Colorado Avalanche 7, Arizona Coyotes 1 --MacKinnon had two assists to help Colorado to its biggest offensive game of the postseason to that point. He assisted on Kadri's power-play goal at 19:39 of the first period and one by forward Matt Calvert at 2:57 of the third, beginning a string of five consecutive multipoint games. Totals: 7 GP, two goals, seven assists, nine points.
Western Conference First Round, Game 5: Colorado Avalanche 7, Arizona Coyotes 1 --The Avalanche eliminated the Coyotes and scored seven goals for the second consecutive game. MacKinnon matched his NHL career playoff high (set against the Minnesota Wild on April 19, 2014) with four points, two goals and two assists, despite playing 13:46. The goals came 58 seconds apart in the second period; he scored on a one-timer from the right circle at 9:51 to give Colorado a 4-0 lead and made it 5-0 with a power-play goal at 10:49. MacKinnon finished the five-game series with 10 points (three goals, seven assists). Totals: 8 GP, four goals, nine assists, 13 points.
Western Conference Second Round, Game 1: Dallas Stars 5, Colorado Avalanche 3 --MacKinnon did everything he could, but it wasn't enough to keep the Avalanche from losing the series opener. He factored on all three Colorado goals, tying the game 1-1 by scoring on a snap shot from the slot at 5:04 of the first period, assisting on a goal by forward Gabriel Landeskog at 4:36 of the second to cut the Stars' lead to 3-2 and redirecting a shot by defenseman Samuel Girard at 18:29 of the second to make it 4-3. Totals: 9 GP, six goals, 10 assists, 16 points.
Western Conference Second Round, Game 2: Dallas Stars 5, Colorado Avalanche 2 --For the second straight game, MacKinnon factored on all of the Avalanche scoring, but they lost again. He scored a power-play goal 6:08 into the first period to put the Avalanche ahead 1-0, then assisted on Rantanen's goal 8:44 into the second period that made it 2-0. However, the Avalanche couldn't hold the lead. Totals: 10 GP, seven goals, 11 assists, 18 points.
Western Conference Second Round, Game 3: Colorado Avalanche 6, Dallas Stars 4 --MacKinnon had two assists in a game that saw Colorado make playoff history by falling behind after leading by two goals in the third period, only to rally and win by two. He assisted on a goal by Landeskog at 11:00 of the second period that made it 3-1, then had the lone assist on Rantanen's game-tying goal at 12:02 of the third period. Totals: 11 GP, seven goals, 13 assists, 20 points.
Western Conference Second Round, Game 4: Dallas Stars 5, Colorado Avalanche 4 --The Avalanche spent the game playing catch-up after Dallas took a 3-0 lead in the first period. MacKinnon continued his point streak with an assist on defenseman Cale Makar's power-play goal at 19:34 of the second period. Totals: 12 GP, seven goals, 14 assists, 21 points.
Western Conference Second Round, Game 5: Colorado Avalanche 6, Dallas Stars 3 --MacKinnon helped Colorado avoid elimination with a goal and an assist to force Game 6. He scored the third of five first-period Avalanche goals and assisted on forward Andre Burakovsky's goal at 18:04 of the second period that gave Colorado a 6-2 lead. Totals: 13 GP, eight goals, 15 assists, 23 points.
Western Conference Second Round, Game 6: Colorado Avalanche 4, Dallas Stars 1 -- MacKinnon helped Colorado force a Game 7 with an assist on Rantanen's goal at 3:31 to give Colorado a 3-1 lead. He also capped the scoring with an empty-net goal at 17:14 of the third. Totals: 14 GP, nine goals, 16 assists, 25 points.