2023-12-14 05:55:00
DENVER, Col. – Nathan MacKinnon set the tone with a hard-hitting hit, before reaching an important plateau with an 800th point in the NHL on Wednesday, in a 5-1 victory for the Colorado Avalanche over the Buffalo Sabres.
In the third period, MacKinnon collected an assist – his second point of the evening – by perfectly setting up Valeri Nichushkin’s second goal of the game.
This is how he added his name to the select 800 point club.
No. 29 of the Avalanche achieved this in his 738th game in the Bettman circuit. He has 296 goals and 504 assists.
As luck would have it, MacKinnon’s 800th point came on Nichushkin’s 100th goal.
Earlier in the match, the 28-year-old star center announced his colors with a display of physical strength, serving a resounding and clean check to Jeff Skinner, who leapt into the air.
Mikko Rantanen was no slouch in victory; the other member of the Avalanche’s top line scored a goal and added two assists to his record.
Only rookie Zach Benson was able to beat goaltender Ivan Prosvetov. The 18-year-old winger scored on a rebound from Rasmus Dahlin at 18:38. Buffalo hadn’t taken a shot on net until then.
In front of the other net, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen tried to plug the gaps, but ultimately conceded five goals on 30 shots.
In his sixth NHL game, defenseman Sam Malinski scored his very first goal. The Finn gave Colorado a 4-1 lead early in the final period.
Vilardi will remember his return to LA
Gabriel Vilardi made sure his return to Los Angeles was a memorable one, as he had four points in a 5-2 victory for the Winnipeg Jets over the Kings.
Obtained by the Jets last summer in the transaction sending Pierre-Luc Dubois to California, Vilardi scored one goal and set up three others.
The young Winnipeg center had missed six weeks of activities earlier this season, precisely the result of a hit suffered from his former Kings teammate Blake Lizotte, in a game played in Manitoba at the start of the season.
Rick Bowness’ men made amends after losing 2-1 to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.
Nikolaj Ehlers and Mark Scheifele also shone, scoring four and three points respectively.
Vilardi’s two linemates combined their efforts to score the Jets’ fifth goal at 19:55 of the third period, into an empty net.
Vilardi will be expected to contribute significantly to the Jets’ offense between now and February, as the team’s best offensive player, Kyle Connor, will be sidelined for six to eight weeks.
The Kings’ response came from captain Anze Kopitar and Alex Laferrière, both in the first period.
Laferrière’s wrist shot from a near-impossible angle at 12:29 of the middle period gave LA a 2-0 lead.
Connor Hellebuyck frustrated the Kings for the next 47 minutes, making 30 saves.
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