Nathan MacKinnon’s season for the ages has officially set a new standard for the Colorado Avalanche franchise.
MacKinnon had a pair of assists Thursday night in Game No. 82 at Ball Arena to help the Avs cruise past the undermanned Edmonton Oilers in a 5-1 win. He finished the season with 51 goals and 140 points. That is one more than Peter Stastny’s 139 points during the 1981-82 season, when the franchise played in Quebec City.
“Yeah, it’s cool,” MacKinnon said. “(He’s) definitely a legend. Peter Stastny is one of the best to ever play. He had some crazy seasons. I think he had a lot better seasons than me overall, this is just one. I think it’s a team accomplishment. A lot of guys helped me out along the way.”
The win is also No. 50 on the season for the Avs. Colorado finished the season with 107 points (50-25-7), good for eighth place in the NHL standings but third in the Central Division. The Avalanche will begin the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday night with Game 1 at Canada Life Center against the Winnipeg Jets, who finished with 110 points. The Jets beat the Avs in all three meetings this season.
Neither the Avalanche nor the Oilers had anything to play for at a team level. Edmonton rested its top seven scorers, including Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. The Avs, meanwhile, iced its regular lineup, save for Justus Annunen in net for starter Alexandar Georgiev.
It did not take long for MacKinnon to claim the record. Colorado scored four times in the opening 10:17, and MacKinnon assisted on two of them.
Valeri Nichushkin opened the scoring 79 seconds in, his first goal since March 22. He recently missed four games with a lower-body injury.
Mikko Rantanen scored his 42nd of the season at 5:48 of the first. MacKinnon had the secondary assist, giving him point No. 139.
The record-breaker came less than two minutes later. Nichushkin directed MacKinnon’s shot into the net from the edge of the crease for his second of the night and career-best 28th of the year.
“It’s amazing,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said of MacKinnon reaching 140. “You think of all the amazing players who have come through this organization, the seasons they have, the success they’ve had as individuals and as a team. To be at the top of that list, I think it’s incredible.”
Cale Makar had an assist on the play as well, giving him 90 points. That is also a franchise record for points by a defenseman, topping his previous mark of 86 set two years ago.
Josh Manson made it a 4-0 lead midway through the first, but the overmatched Oilers did prevent this from becoming a farcical scoreline after that.
Annunen had little work early on, but finished his with 24 saves. He had just four games of NHL experience before this season, but took over as the club’s backup goalie just before the All-Star break and finished with an 8-4-1 record in 14 appearances.
Zach Parise, who told The Denver Post on Wednesday this would be his final NHL regular-season game, scored goal No. 434 of his career to make it a 5-1 lead. Parise, who will turn 40 in July, came out of semi-retirement to join the Avs in late January.
Parise also scored in his NHL debut for New Jersey against Sidney Crosby, also in his first game, and Pittsburgh to open the 2005-06 season. Ross Colton, who grew up in New Jersey and counted the ex-Devils star as one of his favorite players, set up Parise’s goal.
“It was special. I’m not going to lie,” Parise said. “It was a lot of different feelings and thoughts going through your head all day long. To get one, and a great pass from Ross, it was pretty awesome.
“Honestly, it feels like (the first one) was last week. It’s crazy how fast it goes by.”
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