Avalanche demolished Blackhawks! Nathan MacKinnon returned to NHL scoring lead

The Colorado Avalanche outplayed the Chicago Blackhawks 5:0, with four goals from Canadian Nathan MacKinnon, who scored in his 30th straight home game.

Colorado fulfilled the role of the favorite and shot

Youngster Justus Annunen got a chance in goal for Colorado, giving Georgiev a rest. Petr Mrazek, the Czech goaltending stalwart, started in goal for Chicago. The team waited until the 13th minute of the first period for the opening goal.

Mrazek was outplayed by Nathan MacKinnon, who immediately extended his home point streak since the beginning of the season to 30 games in a row and is already on pace for his best performance in two decades.

This was set in the 1995/96 season by Mario Lemieux, who has managed to score in 31 home openers since the start of the season.

Five minutes later, Jonathan Drouin increased the score to a two-goal difference for the home team. In the 33rd minute, Cale Makar increased the lead to 3:0 after Mikko Rantanen and MacKinnon worked together and the game was virtually decided. Chicago looked very resigned and played with too much respect for their opponent.

By the end of the second period, 39-year-old veteran Zach Parise had already increased the difference to four goals. He is doing well for the Avalanche, scoring his 7th point of the season in his 14th game. MacKinnon scored his third point of the game, bringing him within one point of the points leader Nikita Kucherov.

Nathan MacKinnon leads the scoring

At 55:35 MacKinnon scored his second goal of the game. This time on the power play, for his fourth point of the game overall. This puts him at the top of the Canadian scoring chart with the same number of points as Kucherov. But the Canadian has one more goal scored. The Avalanche forward is currently at 105 points on 39 goals and 66 assists and is just six points away from his personal best from last season.

MacKinnon threw down the gauntlet to his Russian rival for the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the scoring winner. And it shows that he has absolutely no competition at home, in 30 duels here he has already scored 65 points for 25 points and 40 assists.

Cale Makar also made his mark in the club annals in this game. He has already recorded 233 assists in 296 games, erasing Tyson Barrie’s record of 232 assists in 482 games. With this clear victory, Colorado solidified the 4th position in the Western Conference. On the other hand, the Blackhawks confirmed their position as the worst team in the NHL. To make matters worse, Chicago lost its 22nd consecutive road game.

Source: NHL