Nathan MacKinnon has matched Joe Sakic as the greatest scorers in Colorado Avalanche franchise history since the club moved to Denver.
MacKinnon had the primary assist on Colorado’s first goal Tuesday night at Ball Arena against the Vegas Golden Knights. That gives him 1,015 points in 870 career games. Joe Sakic also had 1,015 points in 870 games for the Avalanche after the franchise moved to Denver for the start of the 2015-16 season.
The assist also gives MacKinnon 116 points this season, which equals the career high for Avs legend Peter Forsberg. One more point will give MacKinnon two seasons (including his 140 in 2023-24) with more points than any year of Forsberg’s career. If MacKinnon gets to 121 points by the end of this season, it will give him the two highest totals since the Avs moved to Denver, and two years that are more productive than any of Sakic’s career as well.
It was also the 26th straight home game with at least one point, which is the second-longest streak in franchise history, behind only MacKinnon’s run of 35 straight last season.
MacKinnon will move into sole possession of second place in games played for the Avs since the club moved to Denver on Thursday when Colorado plays Vancouver. He is currently 150 games behind Milan Hejduk for the Denver-based record.
The assist also gives MacKinnon the outright lead in the NHL scoring race this season, nudging him back ahead of Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning do have two more games to play after Tuesday than the Avs.
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