Colorado's superstar center was named one of the NHL's three Stars of the Month for the third time this season.
Colorado's superstar center was named one of the NHL's three Stars of the Month for the third time this season.
Nathan MacKinnon earned the NHL's Star of the Month accolade for a third time this season. The Colorado Avalanche elite center notched 27 points in March, just three behind the league leader — Connor McDavid — to earn the Second Star of the Month award.
The 28-year-old forward tied for second in shots on goal with 68, and was fourth in the league with a plus-14. In 13 games played, he scored 11 goals, notched 16 assists and earned eight power-play points — which were all tied for fourth place for the month.
MacKinnon does not comment on a lot of his accomplishments and said he is focused on winning games. The end goal is the Stanley Cup and the team is working to win a second in three seasons.
"I think we're really good this year as well. It's always good to have a chance," MacKinnon said about this year's team compared to the 2022 Cup-winning team.
The Avs only lost two games in regulation and one in an overtime shootout, and had a season-high nine-game win streak in March. MacKinnon scored at least a point in all but one game and recorded eight multi-point games including triple four-point contests.
Cale Makar is Colorado's only other player to win a Star of the Month this season in November. MacKinnon was named the First Star for December and January and only won the No. 2 star once last season in February. He is also the only player this season to earn the nod three times — McDavid, Elias Pettersson and Auston Matthews have two each.
As of April 4, MacKinnon is three points behind the NHL's points leader Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and No. 3 in assists with 80 for the season.
The Halifax, Nova Scotia native scored at least a point in every home game until the 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Rangers on March 28. His total home point scoring streak was 35 games from the start of the season — behind Wayne Gretzky's 1989-90 perfect 40-game home point scoring season with the Los Angeles Kings.
MacKinnon is a Hart and Art Ross Trophy contender along with Kucherov and McDavid. The Lightning are currently in the top Eastern Conference wild card position and the Edmonton Oilers are second in the Pacific Division. The Avalanche officially clinched a playoff berth with their 7-4 win over the Nashville Predators last week.