DENVER — Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon became the first NHL player this season to reach 50 goals when his liner from up top beat Vancouver goaltender Kevin Lankinen early in the first period on Wednesday night.
He celebrated the goal with a little extra flair, too, sliding on his right knee while pumping his right glove. That was pretty much the highlight for the Avalanche, whose rally from a four-goal deficit fell short in an 8-6 loss to the Canucks.
It’s the second 50-goal campaign of MacKinnon’s career. He became the third player in Colorado/Quebec history to notch multiple 50-goal seasons, joining Hall of Famers Joe Sakic (twice) and Michel Goulet (four).
MacKinnon also joins Milan Hejduk (2002-03) as the only skaters in franchise history to hit the 50-goal mark first during an NHL season.
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MacKinnon tied Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov for second with 121 points. They are four behind league leader Connor McDavid of Edmonton.
The 30-year-old MacKinnon turned in his fourth straight season of 110 or more points.
“That’s where he’s gotten his production to over the last handful of seasons — high expectations,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said before the game.
After the game, Bednar was less than thrilled with his team’s play even if they had a late surge that saw them tie it up.
“If you want to hand out badges for good effort and stuff like that — I think we’re beyond that at this time of year,” Bednar said. “If we’re making excuses for that performance, it’s going to be a short run.”
Asked what went wrong in the opening two periods — falling behind 6-2 at one point and pulling goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood — Bednar simply said: “It’s too long of list.”
