Nathan MacKinnon Named Second Star of the Week by NHL

Nathan MacKinnon has been on fire since returning from injury at the end of December.

And on Monday, his dominant play was recognized by the NHL.

The league named MacKinnon the second star of the week, as his play catapulted the Avalanche to a 3-0-1 record. On Sunday, he bested Connor McDavid for the sixth straight time, as the Avalanche beat the Oilers in overtime.

Here’s what the official press release from the NHL had to say about MacKinnon’s week.

“MacKinnon ranked second in the NHL with 3-6—9 across four games – all multi-point efforts – to also propel the Avalanche (31-19-5, 67 points) to a 3-0-1 week. He collected 1-1—2 in each of his first two outings, a 4-3 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning Feb. 14 and a 3-2 victory (featuring the game-winning goal) over the Minnesota Wild Feb. 15. MacKinnon then assisted on two goals in a 4-1 triumph against the St. Louis Blues Feb. 18 and registered 1-2—3 (his seventh three-point performance of the season) in a 6-5 overtime win versus the Edmonton Oilers Feb. 19. The 27-year-old MacKinnon, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2013 NHL Draft, places 14th in the League with 19-48—67 overall this season despite missing 11 contests (44 GP). His 2022-23 average of 1.52 points per game ranks second in the NHL, behind only Connor McDavid (1.79).”

Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle was named first star, while Detroit’s Dylan Larkin was named third star.

After such an eventful week, MacKinnon will sit around and do a whole lot of nothing. The Avalanche do not play again until Friday, when they’re in Winnipeg to take on the Jets. At the moment, the Avalanche are only two points behind the Jets for second place in the division, but the Jets play two more times before the showdown.

Stay tuned to CHN for updates from practice this week.