A power-play one-timer off Cale Makar’s pass broke Nathan MacKinnon’s three-game goal drought on Saturday night, and two assists around it carried the 31-year-old to a three-point evening in Colorado’s 4-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

Through 18 games the Avalanche center is up to 10 goals, 20 assists and 30 points. That line projects to 47 goals, 93 assists and 140 points across an 84-game season, the same total MacKinnon produced in 2023-24, when he finished with 51 goals and 89 assists.

Only a handful of players this century have hit the 140-point mark in a single season. MacKinnon joined that list in 2023-24 and is tracking back toward it before American Thanksgiving.

Fifth in the Art Ross race

One name is already pulling away. Connor McDavid leads the NHL with 47 points in 18 games on 10 goals and 37 assists, 17 clear of MacKinnon’s total. Leon Draisaitl (34), Evan Bouchard (31) and Kirill Kaprizov (31) fill the next three spots, with MacKinnon fifth.

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The shape of his scoring has flipped since last year. MacKinnon posted 127 points on a league-leading 53 goals in 2025-26 and took home the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy for the first time. This season the assists are running well ahead of the goals, 20 to 10, while the points-per-game rate has held.

Saturday broke a short dry patch. Prior to the Detroit game, MacKinnon had gone three games without a goal, his longest goalless streak of the young season.

Drought ended, Toronto on Tuesday

Head coach Jared Bednar kept the praise collective after the shutout.

“There was no passengers on the bench tonight. I liked everybody’s game,” he said.

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MacKinnon’s power-play goal came at 12:30 of the second period, a one-timer off Makar’s feed from behind the left dot. Martin Necas, who finished with four points, opened the scoring on another Colorado power play earlier in the frame.

The game also marked MacKinnon’s 968th NHL appearance, moving him past Adam Foote for third on the Avalanche’s all-time list behind only Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk.

Colorado’s next assignment is a Tuesday night trip to Scotiabank Arena to face the Toronto Maple Leafs, puck drop at 7pm local time.

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