The Colorado center, who has a playoff-tying seven goals, is a big reason why the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche have steamrolled through the first two rounds while only losing once.
Ninety-nine times out of a 100, he scores on that shot.
That seemed to be the overwhelming response when Nathan MacKinnon blew a chance at becoming the gold-medal hero for Canada when he whiffed on an open net midway through the third period at the Olympics.
The score was tied 1-1 when MacKinnon took a pass from Connor McDavid just below the left face-off. With U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck out of position, MacKinnon fired a shot that he normally would have scored on in his sleep. This time, however, it hit the side of the net.
It proved to be a massive miss as American center Jack Hughes scored the eventual winner in overtime.
No question, it was a moment that will likely live with MacKinnon forever. And chances are, it's a shot that MacKinnon has since been practising hundreds — if not thousands of times — in an attempt to avoid a similar outcome.
"It's going to be a while before we get this chance back," MacKinnon said after the gold medal loss. "Yeah, it just sucks."
MacKinnon will have to wait four years before the next Olympics. But nearly three months after that gold medal game, he managed to get a bit of redemption.
With the Colorado Avalanche trailing by a goal late in Game 5, MacKinnon once again found himself in a eerily similar situation. This time, his team was trailing. And he was a bit further out as he took a pass from Martin Necas. And, instead of an empty net, Minnesota goalie Jesper Wallstedt was in position and not providing a whole lot to shoot at.
Of course, it did not matter.
After briefly stickhandling the puck, MacKinnon fired a shot that found a tiny spot just underneath the crossbar as Colorado came back from being down 3-0 and sent the game to overtime. From there, a goal from Brett Kulak sent the Avalanche to the Western Conference final, where they will meet the winner of Vegas-Anaheim.
"I saw a little daylight and just threw it there," MacKinnon told reporters. "It doesn't always go where you want it to."
Indeed, since that miss in Milan we have seen a different version of MacKinnon.
Call it the "Olympics revenge tour" if you want, but it's clear that MacKinnon is playing with a sense of purpose that he didn't have a year ago — particularly in the playoffs.
"That miss at the Olympics may have unlocked the most terrifying version of Nathan MacKinnon," tweeted @hockeypsych_ on X.
"No one has ever had that dawg in him like Nate MacKinnon has," tweeted @katavalanche8 on X.
MacKinnon led the NHL with 53 goals and ranked third with 127 points in the regular season. But in the playoffs, he's been arguably even more dangerous as the Presidents' Trophy-winning Avalanche has steamrolled through the first two rounds while only losing once. In nine games, MacKinnon has a playoff-tying seven goals and is tied for fifth with 13 points — and that's while playing in two fewer games than the players ahead of him.
"Just striving for excellence all season," MacKinnon, who lost in the first round a year ago, told reporters after Wednesday's win. "From the first day of camp, obviously we have new faces, but losing the way we did last season I mentioned it can bring your group closer… it's just a build up all season."
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.