Nathan MacKinnon has elevated his game and there are reasons why he’s on pace for a 150-plus point season. Colorado Avalanche elite forward Nathan MacKinnon was named the First Star of the Month by the NHL for the second consecutive time frame [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/colorado-avalanche/news/nathan-mackinnon-gets-nhls-first-star-of-the-month-for-december]. The last player to earn the same honor was Connor McDavid in February and March of 2023. MacKinnon had seven multi-point games including four- and five-point nights in the first month of the year. He scored five game-winning goals and sits one point behind (84) the league's points leader, Nikita Kucherov. The 28-year-old has scored at least a point in every home game since the season began, which tied him with Bobby Orr (1974-75) in second place for the longest season-opening home point streak. Wayne Gretzky owns the No. 1 spot at 40 games in the 1988-89 season. MacKinnon is tied for first (53) in assists, No. 2 in power-play assists (25) and power-play points (32), ranked second for shots on goal (224) and tied for third with seven game-winning goals. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native is fifth among goal-scorers with 31 and is once again, in serious contention for the Hart Memorial Trophy this season. While MacKinnon is playing at an unprecedented level, he remains focused on winning games. “It’s always nice to score four, I would be lying if I said anything different. Hockey is a funny sport. Sometimes they (pucks) go in and sometimes they don’t. Right now, they are going in for me,” he said after the Avalanche's 6-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Jan. 24. MacKinnon has continued to mature into his prime the last couple of seasons by upping his conditioning and keeping regimented routines. "He's always been the most dedicated guy off the ice since I've been here. It started last year, I'd say, he's carried it through the summer. What he's doing this year — he's really consistent with it and again I'm talking going from great to elite habits, or elite to super elite habits off the ice," head coach Jared Bednar said. "But he's found something with his desire to get better and, I don't know, just his drive and his education of his off-ice training, he's always looking for the edge and he's found what clearly is working for him." This is MacKinnon's fourth time in his career to get First Star and most likely not the last time this season if he continues to play as he has been playing. RECENT AVALANCHE ARTICLES 3 Avalanche stars make TSN's top 25 NHL players list [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/colorado-avalanche/news/3-avalanche-stars-make-tsns-top-25-nhl-players-list] We're just having a lot of fun out there': Avs forward credits linemates for success [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/colorado-avalanche/news/avs-forward-credits-linemates-for-his-success] Avalanche superstars power team to victory [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/colorado-avalanche/news/avalanche-elite-forward-scores-4-goals-complements-linemate-after-victory]
