MacKinnon has four-goal night in Avs win over Caps

In Denver, Nathan MacKinnon hit for four goals, two off the power play, on Wednesday night to send the Avalanche to a 6-3 win over the visiting Washington Capitals.MacKinnon has 30 goals this season, and an active 24-game point streak.

“The reason I really like his mentality is because I think, like deep down, all the true competitors have it. It’s not about what he’s done or what he had done two years ago or last year or even this year to this point,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “That’s not what it’s about. It’s about trying to win again, right? So, the focus is on the endgame, but he’s really dialed into the process of what he thinks is going to lead us to success.

“If he’s going to do all this stuff in order for our team to have success, he expects everyone else around him to do the same. And I would guess that the most frustrating thing for him is if he sees someone that’s not committed or not going on a certain night or not consistent or my stuff’s not in order. Whatever it is, it’s basically unacceptable, which is exactly the way I would like it. And all the real, true competitors that are dialed in to winning, that’s the way you want it.”

Alexandar Georgiev made 23 saves in the win.

The Avalanche improved to 31-14-3.

“It was a tough start, honestly. It’s hard to have that many days off to be honest,” MacKinnon said. “The game is so fast out there, and to get acclimated took us 10 minutes, but then we played well, I thought, the last 50. Power play was good. Got some good looks tonight.”

Cale Makar staked the Avs to a 1-0 lead with 37 seconds left in the opening stanza with a shorthanded marker.

“A little bit of a slow start, but to be able to get that one near the end, I think it gave us a little bit of an extra boost,” Makar said. “It was a big one, but obviously guys just found a way to fill the net after that.”

MacKinnon potted his first of the night at 2:39 of the middle frame to push the lead to 2-0 with a power play marker.

He picked up his double at 7:00 with the second power play strike for a 3-0 advantage to Colorado.

“We try to move it around and find the open guy, and today it was Nate,” Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen said of the power play. “Some nights it’s Cale, some nights it’s me, Ross (Colton), or [Jonathan Drouin] there, but he was open today, and good for him to finish those two looks we had.”

MacKinnon collected his hats with a natural hat trick midway through the second period for a 4-0 lead to the Avs.

“It’s fun to watch. The chemistry that they have and the ability that they just have to score right now, paired with their work ethic, is second to none right now,” Makar said. “So, it’s really fun to watch from the back end to be honest with you. You just put the puck in their hands and you just kind of watch.”

The Caps dropped to 22-18-6.

“Obviously, the difference in the game is three of the best players on the planet,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “I liked a lot of the things that we did tonight to be honest with you. I know the scoreboard will not reflect that whatsoever, but I liked a lot of the things that we did from an energy standpoint, structure standpoint, offensive zone, even some entry stuff, which has been a struggle for us.”

Dylan Strome cut into the lead for the Caps at 7:26 of the third period to make it 4-1 to Colorado.

Rantanen replied midway through the third for a to balloon the lead back to 5-1.

MacKinnon hit for his fourth of the night at 16:14 to push the advantage out to 6-1..

“It’s always nice to score four, obviously, and I’d be lying if I said anything different,” MacKinnon said. “Hockey’s a funny sport. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t, and right now they’re going in for me.”

Strome collected his double at 17:37 for the 6-2 final count on the scoreboard.