The Colorado Avalanche fell to the Minnesota Wild in a shootout, marking their first NHL loss since a February 23 defeat to the St. Louis Blues. Nathan MacKinnon knows the team can’t win them all, and after the streak ended in Minneapolis, he shared an honest and optimistic take.
The Avalanche have been on a tear recently, after big moves during the NHL trade deadline, which didn’t affect the team’s morale, they now sit in third position in the Central Division, with a bigger margin ahead of the Wild who sit in the WC1 spot.
Although losing to a divisional opponent is always deflating, the Avalanche have some breathing room and the narrow defeat shouldn’t set off many alarms inside the organization.
That sentiment was made clear by one of the loudest voices in the locker room, as MacKinnon voiced a calm statement after the 2-1 shootout defeat to the Wild at Xcel Energy Center.
“It’s a tough back-to-back,” Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon said postgame, as reported by NHL.com. “We got in at 4 (a.m.). It’s a grind but it was great to get a point, get a late goal there.”
Elite company
MacKinnon became the first player to surpass the 100-point mark in the 2024-25 NHL season after a two-point night against the Chicago Blackhawks. Most importantly, MacKinnon joined the elite 1,000 point club in the NHL. MacKinnon is now along the likes of Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, and Alex Ovechkin, as active players to reach the millenium of points.
However, ‘Nate Dogg’ didn’t look forward to rest in his laurels, instead focusing on the season ahead and the big expectations set for the Avalanche in the postseason.
“I think it’s cool. It’s fun to accomplish something with friends and teammates and stuff,” MacKinnon said, according to NHL.com. “I don’t know, it’s a number. It’s a cool milestone, for sure, and something to reflect on, I guess.“
Time to put together another streak
The Avalanche will look to start a new winning stretch as they visit the Calgary Flames on Friday, March the 14th at Scotiabank Saddledome.