Zizing ‘Em Up: Canada's MacKinnon, Makar among duos to watch at 4 Nations Face-Off

PITTSBURGH -- Just call them Canada’s Colorado connection.

Indeed, less than two months before the first puck is dropped, forward Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar are preparing to leave their marks on the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.

To that end, when it comes to doing that in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche, they already are.

With the Holiday season upon us, MacKinnon finds himself atop the NHL scoring race with 50 points (13 goals, 37 assists) while Makar leads all defensemen in the League with 37 points (nine goals, 28 assists). How’s that for a one-two punch heading into the tournament, which runs from February 12-20 in Montreal and Boston, and features teams representing Canada, United States, Sweden and Finland?

When you watch the way the two stars effortlessly pass the puck to each other, sometimes seemingly without looking, you understand how important their chemistry and familiarity will be in a short event like this where the four teams will have, at most, two or three practices together before the tournament starts. And whatever power-play unit they end up on, it’s a good bet they are on the same one as is the case with Colorado, where they constantly find each other without even stopping the puck.

Both Makar and MacKinnon took time out to discuss all things 4 Nations with NHL.com recently and agreed they could not be more stoked for the tournament. In the process, Makar said he still shakes his head in disbelief sometimes at some of the moves and accomplishments MacKinnon can pull off on the ice, including the forward’s ninth career five-point game (one goal, four assists) in a 6-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday.

“There’s always something new, something different,” the 26-year-old defenseman said of MacKinnon. “And I think as a top player you’ve got to do that, make sure that you’re working every night.

“Every night, every game, you see different things from him, whether it’s him being creative and trying something new or tweaking things he already does very well.

“It’s fun to keep seeing him evolve every day.”

Both players have had their share of accolades over the years.

In 2021-22, Makar won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman and the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP en route to helping the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup. For his part, MacKinnon is coming off his best statistical season, when he won the 2023-24 Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player after he put up 140 points (51 goals, 89 assists).

Now, these two decorated stars will join another Avalanche teammate, defenseman Devon Toews, with Canada.

“I’m really, really excited,” MacKinnon said, showing a rare flash of giddiness not usually seen from the normally composed Nova Scotia native. “And now, obviously, it’s more realistic. It’s not just an image in your head.

“Now that the teams are built, you can kind of picture a lot of combinations and style of our game. What will lines look like? What will the power plays look like? Cale and I have been teammates with the Avs and played together for a while now, both on the power play and at 5-on-5, so that certainly helps.”

MacKinnon works out with fellow Team Canada forwards and Nova Scotia natives Sidney Crosby and Brad Marchand in the Halifax area during the summer and embraces the opportunity to play with them on an international level, hopefully on the same line.

“We know each other very well,” he said. “And if that happens, I just have to play my game. I mean, Sid is so smart, he’ll just read off his line mates like he always does.

“The way he controls the pace is second to none. And for me, I’m going to try to push the pace and get the defense back on its heels.”

So, for that matter, will Makar, a recipe that is sure to give the other teams fits.

“I mean, on the ice, Cale and I definitely will have chemistry,” MacKinnon said. “We play every game together, and we’re on the ice together for most of the game.

“So, that will be cool.”

For MacKinnon and Makar. For their Canadian teammates. And for hockey fans who will be able to see their elite Colorado connection on such a grand international stage.

THE KARLSSON CHRONICLES 1.0

At 34 years old, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson says there is one particular individual player he is looking forward to being teammates with for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

“I’ve played with a lot of guys over the years. When it comes to someone I haven't played with before while representing Sweden, I would have to say it would have to be Willy Nylander,” Karlsson said in a 1-on-1 interview, referring to the Toronto Maple Leafs forward.

Why?

“Willy is going to be very fun for me to play with,” he explained. “Watching his game, it’s very easy for me to read his qualities out there and how he likes to play the game.

“In saying that, he’s a little bit more difficult to play against and make reads. Even though you know what he’s going to do, you have to kind of play it differently.

“So, it’ll be nice to be on the same side of the puck with him for a while.”

The same could be said of Victor Hedman, the Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman and one of his best friends in the game. The two played together for Sweden at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and Karlsson hopes more such opportunities arise, even after the 4 Nations Face-Off.

The 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics, perhaps?

“That would be great,” said Karlsson, who has 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) in 32 games this season. “Hopefully we have quite a few more of these left in us. We haven’t played that much together. He wasn’t picked for the 2014 Olympic team, which is still a head scratcher, so we haven’t played together that much.

“It’s going to be great and so much fun.”

THE CARLSSON CHRONICLES 2.0

There is another Carlsson on the Swedish roster. His name is Leo, a forward with the Anaheim Ducks. At age 19, he is 15 years younger than Erik Karlsson. And, as such, there is no one player he is looking forward to playing with.

Instead, in his teenage world, he’s looking forward to playing with any and all of them. Such is the awe he experienced when he got the call saying he’d made the team.

“I mean, I didn’t expect it when I started the season,” Leo Carlsson told NHL.com. “It’s so cool. Just super excited to play with the best players from our nation.

“There’s so many of them I’m excited to see when I walk into the dressing room. Karlsson. Hedman. Nylander. Filip Forsberg with Nashville. So many.”

Carlsson, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 23 games this season. Prior to being drafted, he played for Sweden at the 2023 IIHF World Championship, where he was teammates with Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond, who also is on the Swedish 4 Nations team.

“I know (defenseman) Jonas Brodin and (forward) Joel Eriksson Ek because they are from my hometown (Karlstad) and we skate together in the summer, so I do know some guys on the team,” he said. “I’m just so stoked.

“Like I said, I never expected this. It’s going to be such an honor.”

POINTS PARADE

MacKinnon was part of a wild week (December 9-15) in the NHL, one in which 10 players recorded at least four points in a game.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov led the way with six points (one goal, five assists) in an 8-3 victory against the Calgary Flames on Thursday, the most by any player in a game this season.

Two nights earlier, MacKinnon (one goal, four assists) and Colorado Avalanche teammate Mikko Rantanen (three goals, two assists) each had five points in a 6-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

It was that type of offensive explosion around the League.

Here’s a look at the top single-game performers in that goal-friendly seven-day span, based on points.

6: Nikita Kucherov (TBL): one goal, five assists at Calgary Thursday
5. Nathan MacKinnon (COL): one goal, four assists at Pittsburgh Tuesday
5. Mikko Rantanen (COL): three goals, two assists at Pittsburgh Tuesday
4. Bryan Rust (PIT): three goals, one assist at Montreal Thursday
4. Rickard Rakell (PIT); two goals, two assists at Montreal Thursday
4. Leon Draisaitl (EDM): one goal, three assists at Minnesota Thursday
4. Scott Laughton (PHI): four goals vs Detroit Thursday
4. Drake Batherson (OTT): three goals, one assist vs Anaheim Wednesday
4. Brayden Point (TBL): one goal, three assists at Calgary Thursday
4. David Pastrnak (BOS): one goal, three assists at Vancouver Saturday

ON THE MARK

The fight against ALS, spearheaded by former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mark Kirton, never ends.

Earlier this month, the Courage to Fight ALS campaign held an event called the ALS Virtual Concert, an online production hosted by "Hockey Night in Canada’s" Ron MacLean and featuring a performance by Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo. About $160,000 was raised from the concert on December 5, which can be seen by clicking on the link https://www.alssuperfund.ca/

The second part of the Courage to Fight ALS campaign will be the ALS Super Auction from Feb. 6 to Feb. 20. The event, a virtual auction, will be hosted by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and by Real Sports on-line platform, with all 32 NHL clubs donating items.

The ALS Super Fund was formed to raise funds and awareness for research to solve ALS, a progressive nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control and eventually leading to loss of mobility and the ability to eat and speak, paralysis and respiratory failure. To date, the ALS Super Fund has raised more than $1.3 million.

In the past two years alone, ALS has claimed three notable figures from the hockey world: Maple Leafs Hall of Famer Borje Salming, an ex-teammate of both Sittler and Kirton, on Nov. 24, 2022, Calgary Flames assistant GM Chris Snow on Sept. 30, 2023, and former Senators assistant coach Bob Jones on July 26, 2024.

It was Kirton who helped provide guidance for Salming and his family when the former defenseman was diagnosed with the disease. He and former Maple Leafs captain Darryl Sittler were instrumental in bringing Salming to Toronto to be honored by the Maple Leafs just two weeks before his passing.

People diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, have an average life expectancy of 3-5 years. Kirton, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2018, has already exceeded that.

Thanks in part to the 66-year-old Kirton, names like Sittler, Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer and Edmonton Oilers president Jeff Jackson are all on board in their support of the ALS Super Fund.

Well done, Kirts.

QUOTE/UNQUOTE

“Some guys tried tonight, so can't throw everybody out of the bus.”

-- A perturbed coach Rick Tocchet after his Vancouver Canucks were thoroughly defeated 5-1 by the Boston Bruins in front of a national television audience on "Hockey Night in Canada" on Saturday.

THE LAST WORD

With 4 Nations rosters having been revealed, we’ll be taking a weekly look from now until the tournament at one player from each country who’s on a roll with their respective NHL teams.

Adrian Kempe (Sweden): The Los Angeles Kings forward is averaging a point-per-game (15 goals, 15 assists in 30 games) and has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past four games.

Mikko Rantanen (Finland): The Colorado Avalanche forward has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his past five games.

Jack Hughes (United States): When he goes off, it comes in bunches. Consider that he has eight three-point performances in his past 18 games. The true definition of an explosive player.

Brayden Point (Canada): The Tampa Bay Lightning forward is on a five-game point streak (four goals, 11 assists), during which he’s produced three four-point games.