Great players will always find a way to stand out, and even in an average game by his personal standards, Nathan MacKinnon managed to write his name into the Colorado Avalanche record books twice.
The Nova Scotian scored four goals against the poor Ottawa Senators on Thursday night in Denver. No “Avs” player had achieved this feat in the past.
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MacKinnon also reached the 300-goal mark in his 742nd game in the National Hockey League. In the rich history of the Avalanche and Quebec Nordiques, only Joe Sakic (625), Michel Goulet (456), Peter Stastny (380) and Milan Hejduk (375) have scored more goals than him.
“It's really remarkable with all the players that were here. “I’m happy for him,” MacKinnon’s great strike partner Mikko Rantanen said in the press scrum. […] I think it's the best I've ever seen from him. The way he played, ran and made plays made life difficult for opponents and he defended well…”
Rantanen can say whatever he wants, but his teammate doesn't fully agree with his words. He believes he was lucky and realized he was in the right place at the right time.
“I feel like I've played better games but I scored a few goals tonight. I grazed a puck, another hit my pad and [j’ai marqué] in an abandoned network. Sometimes it seems easy, but sometimes it is more difficult. “It was easy tonight,” number 29 admitted.
Respond to reviews
Tuesday's loss to the Chicago Blackhawks prompted defenseman Devon Toews to make a public appearance to rouse the squad. He had criticized the inconsistency and overconfidence of his teammates and himself.
His message was heard except in the second period. Head coach Jared Bednar certainly got his men back in order in the locker room.
“The second period was terrible,” he said, reflecting on the Senators’ two goals in 21 shots. […] During this time we lacked attention to detail. Look at the number of chances we missed. It was ridiculous. I think there was probably a time when [Alexandar Georgiev] I'd like to review the sequence again, but then he made several big saves and turned his back on us when we were in trouble in the penalty shootout.
Bednar continued by praising MacKinnon and Rantanen's work and saying that he asked a lot of his first line, which Valeri Nichushkin completed.
“They're probably a little frustrated with the way we played in the second game, but tonight they responded,” he said. They kept working and doing what it took to lift us out of poverty.”
The Avalanche will play two games against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday and Wednesday.