DENVER — Forty-three seconds. That is how long it took Nathan MacKinnon to score the goal that extended his home points streak to 35 games.
The fact he scored that quickly is a reflection of how MacKinnon is a perpetual threat. That he had a point in every home game entering the March 26 contest with the Montreal Canadiens while simultaneously leading the NHL in points is another way to measure what has made the Colorado Avalanche‘s superstar center so indomitable this season.
Yet it was the way he scored the goal that offers insight into why this season has been the best and most consistently productive campaign of his 11-year career.
Ever since he first burst into the hockey world’s consciousness at age 14, many superlatives have been used to describe MacKinnon’s game. Now that he’s 28, one word that has been used quite a bit this season is patience. The goal he scored against the Canadiens to keep his streak alive was an example of that patience. Initially, the pass he played to Jonathan Drouin was deflected and appeared to be going out of the zone.
Paying attention to the puck meant nobody had eyes on MacKinnon. He used his surroundings to float in a space in the Canadiens’ zone that, with his speed, gave him the runway and time to get back on defense to prevent an odd-skater rush or to be in a position to place his opponents in a compromising spot if the Avs recovered the puck.
What occurred was the latter.
All it took was two passes before Canadiens goaltender Sam Montembeault was faced with a one-timer from an unmarked MacKinnon that was launched from the right faceoff circle.
This is what MacKinnon’s version of patience looks like.
“It’s crazy because for me when I watch hockey and when you’re a defenseman and you see him come, defensemen are going to sag back because they don’t want to get beat wide,” Drouin said. “I think that’s why he’s opened up with his playmaking. He has time to delay and it’s because the D are respecting him. It would be too if I were a defenseman.”
MacKinnon’s home points streak ended two days later against the New York Rangers. He followed that game up by scoring four points in a comeback win against the Nashville Predators that clinched the Avalanche’s seventh consecutive playoff berth.
The most points in a season in franchise history. The most points on home ice in a season in franchise history. A home points streak that finished second in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky’s 40 games in 1988-89. A pair of 19-game point streaks in the same season, a first in NHL history.
These are more than just statements. These bullet points are ammunition for the questions that have been fired off about MacKinnon as of late. What is it about this season? Exactly what has MacKinnon done to be in position to have the best individual campaign of his career?
And, could this be the year MacKinnon finally wins the Hart Trophy that has tantalizingly eluded him?
“It’s just been a lot of work, I think, and there’s new things I just try to get better at,” MacKinnon said. “Also, I’ve been healthy so far. Knock on wood. Every year it seems like I get hurt and hopefully that doesn’t happen. I feel great. My body’s good. My mind’s good and things are just going my way for whatever reason.”
THERE IS NO question MacKinnon is the finished product. What that product is, however, is still a bit of a question. Is he a pure goal scorer? A playmaker? A power forward? Or is it that he’s all three at once, sometimes on the same shift?
MacKinnon had a moment in that game against the Canadiens when…
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