The Colorado Avalanche have established themselves as the top team in the NHL so far this season with an impressive 31-3-7 record and the play of Nathan MacKinnon is a big reason for their success.
MacKinnon is locked in a close race with Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid for the most points in the NHL, with MacKinnon currently having the edge with 74 to McDavid’s 72.
One area where MacKinnon has carved out a big lead is in the goals department, where he leads the league with 35, nine ahead of Matt Boldy of the Minnesota Wild, who has 26.
With 35 goals in 41 games, the halfway point in the NHL’s regular season, MacKinnon is on pace for 70 goals this season, a feat that has not been accomplished since 1992-93, when Buffalo’s Alexander Mogilny and Winnipeg’s Teemu Selanne both scored 76 goals.
MacKinnon is currently shooting at 18.7 per cent, well ahead of his career average mark of 10.9 per cent. It’s also higher than his mark of 12.6 per cent he shot in 2023-24, when he scored his current career-high of 51 goals.
MacKinnon has scored 28 goals at even strength, with the other seven coming on the power play. He has five game-winning goals and one overtime winner.
MacKinnon has been equally prolific at home and on the road. At Ball Arena, MacKinnon has 17 goals in 19 games and 18 goals in 22 games away from Denver.
Impressively, he has increased his goal output every month this season. In October, he had nine in 11 games. In November, he had 11 goals in 13 contests and in December, he averaged a goal per game with 14 goals in 14 games.
In conference play, MacKinnon has 21 goals in 23 games against the Western Conference, and he has 14 goals in 18 games against the Eastern Conference. He has been most prolific against the Pacific Division, with 12 goals in 11 games.
In NHL history, just eight players have scored 70 or more goals in a season, with Wayne Gretzky achieving the feat four times, Brett Hull three and Mario Lemieux twice. Bernie Nicholls, Jari Kurri and Phil Esposito all reached that mark once in their careers.
In more recent history, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews narrowly missed out on 70 goals in 2023-24, ending the season with 69 goals. Matthews is the only player post-2005 lockout to reach the 60-plus goal mark twice as he also scored 60 in 2021-22.
McDavid and David Pastrnak scored 64 and 61 goals respectively in 2022-23 while Steven Stamkos (60 in 2011-12) and Alex Ovechkin (65 in 2007-08) are the others to do it in the 2000s.
It will be a busy back half of the season for MacKinnon, who will also play a big role for Team Canada at the upcoming Olympics in Italy.