MacKinnon powering Avalanche resurgence

PITTSBURGH -- Nathan MacKinnon shrugged his shoulders, almost as if yet another outstanding night in his generational career was no big deal.

In the end, it was.

And then some.

“I mean, honestly, it was just a weird game,” the Colorado Avalanche forward said after his team’s 6-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday. “You know, it feels like I didn’t do anything special out there tonight and I got five [points].

“I don’t know why, and I wish I did, or I would do it every game.”

Nothing special?

On a night the 29-year-old had a goal and four assists?

He might not think it was very significant, despite the fact he reached the 600-assist milestone for his NHL career.

But his teammates did, no one more than linemate Mikko Rantanen, who equaled MacKinnon’s total of five for the game with a hat trick and two assists.

It was the ninth time that MacKinnon had five points in a game, a stat that had Rantanen shaking his head in disbelief. Indeed, MacKinnon may have been the only person in PPG Paints Arena that didn’t consider it a special performance from a special player -- namely, him.

“He’s the best player in the world,” Rantanen said. “He makes plays every night, he plays hard, and he’s very dedicated to get better every day. And again tonight, he was on his game and was making plays.”

The Avalanche forward paused to laugh.

“A lot of people don’t get five points in their career,” he said. “He does it nine times in his career, and he still has a lot of years left.

“It’s remarkable. And we’re just enjoying the ride with him.”

Count Jared Bednar as part of that group.

Nothing surprises the Avalanche coach about MacKinnon anymore. He watched the Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, native help Colorado win the Stanley Cup in 2022. He had a firsthand view from behind the bench in 2023-24 when MacKinnon had 140 points (51 goals, 89 assists) en route to being awarded the Hart Trophy as the NHL most valuable player. Thanks to his performance against his hometown pal Sidney Crosby and the Penguins, he leads the NHL with 46 points (10 goals, 36 assists).

Yes, the night was special in Bednar’s mind. But it was nothing he hasn’t seen before.

“I actually didn’t know he had five points until I came into [my office] at the end,” Bednar admitted. “I mean, that’s the effect he can have on the game.

“Some nights he could be playing just an OK game, maybe not as involved as he’d like to be, a little frustrated at times. And then, if he sees an opening and gets a chance, he makes a play and starts making them on a consistent basis.

“Some nights the puck goes in, and he gets rewarded with a lot of points. Other nights, it could be the goaltender having a big night for the other team, players playing against him are having a big night and it’s harder to create. Tonight, it just seemed like the game was in slow motion for him.”

The same could be said for the entire Avalanche team of late, which returned to Denver having gone 4-1-0 on their Eastern swing, outscoring the opposition 20-12 in the process thanks in part to MacKinnon’s 10 points (three goals, seven assists) on the trip.

“Four of five, it was awesome,” MacKinnon said. “There’s still a lot of work to do but it feels solid.”

Indeed, Colorado (17-13-0) is finding its groove and starting to approach the high expectations it’s set for itself.

The same cannot be said for Crosby and the Penguins (12-14-4), who have given up 30 more goals (116) than they’ve scored (86).

The game against the Avalanche was billed as the Nova Scotia battle of Nate vs. Sid but proved to be anything but. Crosby has gone seven games without a goal and has scored just once in his past 10.

“I mean, I don't feel like I’ve forgotten how to, but I definitely have to find ways to either get shots through or get around the net a little bit more,” Crosby said. “That's on me to find the net.”

For their part, the Avalanche had no problems finding the net Tuesday, thanks in part to the player Colorado fans refer to as “Nate The Great.”

On this night, he was all of that.