DENVER (AP) – Nathan MacKinnon believes this may be the best edition of the Colorado avalanche he has seen during his tenure.
Not surprisingly, his teammates feel the same way about him.
The proof is in the honors: the speedy All-Star forward is ready for a recognition hat, which includes the Hart Trophy (MVP), the Ted Lindsay Award (the most outstanding as voted by his peers) and the Lady Byng Trophy (sportsmanship).
Nor is it surprising, he has the support of his teammates to rampage. After all, he kept the team afloat when the avalanche suffered one major injury after another.
With the team once again healthy, including himself, after missing the suspended season finale with a lower body injury, he feels comfortable enough to say that this team should be a favorite in the playoffs of the Stanley Cup. They were the second seed behind St. Louis in the Western Conference when things stopped. They open their all-against-all games to determine the Aug. 2 seed against the Blues in Edmonton.
“We are sure we can do it,” said MacKinnon.
It’s been a great season for the 24-year-old MacKinnon, who is in his seventh year after being taken No. 1 overall in 2013. He was fifth in the league in scoring with 93 points (35 goals, 58 assists) .
In addition, he finished 43 points ahead of Colorado’s next scorer, rookie defender Cale Makar. It is the largest gap of any team since the 2007-08 Washington Capitals, when Alex Ovechkin had 112 points and Nicklas Backstrom 69.
Part of the reason for the discrepancy: Many of MacKinnon’s top scorers were hurt. His linemates Mikko Rantanen and captain Gabriel Landeskog lost a lot of time with injuries. Rantanen limited himself to a total of 42 games and missed the last 12 (he’s healthy again after the four-month hiatus).
Still, the team remained in the middle of the race.
“We didn’t miss a beat, and that was because players like Mac led the charge and raised their game when we needed it most,” said Colorado coach Jared Bednar, whose team will play an exhibition game against Minnesota on Wednesday. “That’s what an MVP does.”
And that is why it is ready for all hardware. He is competing against Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl and New York Ranger Ranger Artemi Panarin for the Hart Trophy, which is voted by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and the Ted Lindsay Award.
“It’s good that your peers vote for you. It’s always great to have their respect,” said MacKinnon, who didn’t practice Thursday. “Things are going well for me. I got some good rebounds.
For the second consecutive season, MacKinnon led the league in shooting (318). In addition, his streak with at least one shot is 220 games, which is the second longest chain in team history (Joe Sakic, 227 from ’95 -99).
“He just plays good hockey and produces goals and points and plays well for the team,” said Rantanen. “That is what he has been doing for the past three years. This could be the best he has ever played.”
Sure, he had more goals (41) and points (99) last season, but that was for an entire season and not with this volume of injuries. He started things early with 25 points in November, a franchise record, despite being without Rantanen and Landeskog for most of the month.
For his success in recent seasons, he attributes a great thing: the small ones.
“When I really changed my game and really started to focus on every little detail of ice and ice, I’m ready for some great prizes.” I don’t think it’s a coincidence, ”said MacKinnon, who was the captain of the Central Division while making his fourth consecutive All-Star Game. Obviously, getting older and maturing helps. But I definitely had to mark it in all aspects of my game. “
Not that he’s reading too much into all the individual compliments he could take home. She has her eyes on a much larger trophy. The avalanche has lifted the Stanley Cup twice in the team’s history: 1996 and 2001.
“To leave a legacy, you have to win,” said MacKinnon, whose team led San Jose to seven games in the second round last season before being eliminated. “That’s not what I’m really looking to do, leave a legacy. But I want to win with these guys. We are such a close group. They all want to look successful.”
