Avalanche's Cale Makar sets a franchise record
Cale Makar's short-handed wrist shot - the first goal of last night's game - marked one record for the Avalanche. (And almost two.)
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports - Avalanche's Cale Makar sets a franchise recordCale Makar made franchise history last night against the Washington Capitals toward the end of the opening period. The 25-year-old defenseman scored his 76th career goal, which surpasses Tyson Barrie for the most goals ever scored by a Colorado Avalanche defenseman.
According to The Daily Faceoff, an online NHL news hub, it only took Makar 280 career games to get to 75 goals, compared to Barrie's 484. He is also catching up to Barrie's point record for an Avalanche defenseman at 307. Makar now has 303.
Makar is also competing with the likes of the legend Bobby Orr. Makar reached 300 points in 280 games. Orr just beats him at 300 points in 279.
He scored his 11th goal of the season, and a career-first shorthanded goal, dodging stick interception attempts from Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov and defenseman John Carlson.
This opened up what would end up being a 6-2 win for the Avalanche, with Makar scoring the first goal in the first period, followed by a team total of three in the second and two in the third. The Capitals attempted a comeback in the last period and scored two, but came up short.
Makar also made two assists during last night's game.
He is the recipient of numerous awards. In 2022, he won the James Norris Memorial Trophy for the best defensive player who shows all-around ability. The same year, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy for the most valuable player during the playoffs, just before the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022. He also won the Calder Trophy for the most proficient player in his first season in the NHL in 2019-20.
Makar also praised his teammates in a post-game interview with Guerilla Sports.
"[I am] just very honoured and [it's] not really a goal that I was too focused on for sure but again you don't get there with guys around you like, unless you got guys like this around me, so, it's a pleasure to play with all these guys," Makar said when asked about his record-breaking goal.
Makar also praised teammate and centreman Nathan MacKinnon, who scored a whopping four goals and an assist, and also made eight shots on goal.
"He's the best player in the world," Makar said. "I don't think it's really a question at the moment to be completely honest with you.
"Even guys like me like to watch him [and] take notes whenever I can," he added.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8xxSMx3i18[/embed]
Makar is the third-best point scorer on the Avalanche, with 57 so far this season, with 11 goals and 46 assists across 43 games this season.
Makar is the twelfth-best point scorer in the NHL at the moment. He is also on a five-game point streak, with a total of nine in his past five games.
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