Almost.

It’s been choppy. It’s been grimey. The Kings are winning on special teams.

And yet the Colorado Avalanche left for Los Angeles on Wednesday with a 2-0 series lead, emboldened by its work without the puck, patience and signs that this may be a more well-equipped group to survive games like this than previous editions.

“I’m happy with the way we’ve been sticking with it, and we have absolutely no problem playing this way. I think we like playing this way,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said early Wednesday morning after a 2-1 overtime win in Game 2. ” We know what we need to do to be successful and to be be hard to play against defensively. For us, that’s kind of where our game starts is our checking game.”

Colorado was the most explosive offensive team in the NHL this season. The Avs led the league with 297 goals.

That has been the club’s identity, at least externally, quite literally since the franchise moved to Denver. Colorado has scored the second-most goals in the NHL over the past 30 seasons, behind only the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Joe Sakic. Peter Forsberg. Nathan MacKinnon. Cale Makar. A bunch of their highly-skilled friends.

Jared Bednar fostered offensive excellence with this group with an aggressive, attacking mindset, backed by game-breaking talent and quality depth players. Guys arrive in Denver from other NHL clubs and just get better offensively.

But all that overshadows how the 2025-26 edition of the Avalanche became the league’s best team in the regular season. Bednar has always stressed defensive solidity first, and the offense will flow from there. This team also allowed the fewest goals.

This team, shaped by recent postseason failures and additions that have made it the deepest Avs group since 2022, has bought into that idea. And against an inferior opponent that wants to play a grind-it-out style, the Avs’ defensive prowess has stood out.

“We know (the Kings) going to check hard and play the right way and they’ve been consistent at that all year and so have we,” Bednar said. “I liked our checking game again tonight. We’re digging in on the defensive side of things.

“That¶¶Òõap how we have to win. It¶¶Òõap good practice. It¶¶Òõap something we’ve been talking about all year, the importance of the defending, and I’m happy with the commitment that we’re getting from our guys.”

While the Avs have only scored four goals in the first two games, the most important number so far might be zero — as in, Colorado is the only team that has yet to allow a goal at 5-on-5. The Avs have controlled this series when it’s been played at 5-on-5.

Los Angeles goaltender Anton Forsberg has been very good, but Scott Wedgewood has been a little better. The Avs have remained patient, bolstered by their confidence in Wedgewood and their ability to find offense when needed.

The low scoring has led to some anxious moments, and it’s only two games. Maybe the Kings will find a way to create more without allowing the floodgates to open at the other end of the ice.

The Avs would like to create more. They did create more in Game 2. The score looks the same, but Colorado had control of the game for much longer stretches than it did in Game 1.

At a minimum, the Avs have shown they don’t need to blink if the games in this series continue to be a grind. The Kings may have bolstered their belief by staying with the Avs for two games at Ball Arena, but those contests have had a similar effect for the club that’s already up 2-0.

“Playoffs are going to be hard,” MacKinnon said. “It’s a really good team over there. They’re playing hard. We’re playing hard. It¶¶Òõap low scoring, but it’s fun hockey. I thought we played pretty solid. I thought we had a lot of good looks, generating a ton. Their goal has been really good. Our goalie has been really good.

“It’s playoff time. You definitely can get frustrated during the regular season, but playoffs … there’s no time for that. You got to be, you know, 100% in, team-player positive and you’ve just got to stick with it. I feel like we’re doing a lot of good things and we’re up to it.

“It’s low-scoring games, but it¶¶Òõap not about the amount of goals. Just got to get some wins.”

Sean Keeler: Friday, when you toss in the snow and the USWNT? So cool. Literally. Saturday? Electric. Sunday? TCB. As in, Take Care of Business. And, by golly, the Avs better. When it comes to the first two rounds of the playoffs, there’s more pressure on Bednar to not get upset, because a.) He’s been here longer and everyone’s opinion on the big guy — pro or con — is pretty well set in stone by now; b.) You’re the No. 1 seed; c.) Bednar’s contract is up after next season. The Kings are the kind of first-round opponent the Avs should dispense of quickly — but they’re also the kind that are going to make you absolutely work for it. The Kings are going to hit you late. Hit you early. Hit you coming off the dang bus. Ugly hockey with a hot goaltender is Plan A for any underdog, and Bednar has to prove for the next eight days or so that he can win 3-2, 2-1, 1-0 kind of slugfests. So far, so good.

Renck: Outcomes microwave expectations. The Nuggets shot poorly and still smashed the Timberwolves in Game 1. It cemented the notion that Denver is capable of reeling off 16 victories over the next two months. But it is not likely. Having to go through the Spurs and Thunder creates a path more suited for a mountain goat. This is the first reason Adelman has less at stake. The second? Injuries provided him cover all season. The Nuggets secured the No. 3 seed because of his dynamic offense and ability to help role players reach their potential. But if Denver loses to the Spurs, for instance, it will be viewed as a disappointment, not a crash out. The same cannot be said for Bednar if the Avs fail to reach the Stanley Cup Finals.

Keeler: The outside noise will be louder for whatever the Nuggets do (or don’t do) this spring. The road’s tougher. The tension’s higher. Adelman’s regular season had more twists and turns than Nikola Jokic’s over 30 now, and everybody knows we’re unlikely to see his kind of NBA greatness in Denver gold, for this long, ever again. Josh Kroenke loves all his assets equally (wink), but let’s also be real: He’s a hoopster, not a puck head. The highest-up in KSE have the last word on Nuggets business. When it comes to the Avs, they’re more likely to defer to Joe Sakic and Chris MacFarland and admit they know what they don’t know. Unlike the end of the Michael Malone Era, Bednar’s led a comparatively calm, steady ship. Sakic digs that. C-Mac digs that. So do Josh and Stan.

Renck: Bednar has shown growth this season. He seems more willing to experiment, and demonstrated common sense by sticking with Scott Wedgewood in goal. Management has always exercised patience with Bedsy. But fans will not. In the recent ESPN top 50 ranking of players in the postseason, the Avs featured three in the top 10 — MacKinnon (first), Cale Makar (fourth) and Martin Necas (10th). And Wedgewood came in at No. 34. It is impossible to have this kind of star talent and steady third-and-fourth-line grinders and not be favored. Bednar is under more pressure, but must remain aggressive. Adelman, in some ways, has nothing to lose after the first round. Bednar must see his situation as everything to gain.

Keeler: And as much as we harp on Joker’s window, the Avs have long since pushed all their chips to the middle of the table. They’re bringing nine players who are 31 years or older into the postseason grind. Gabe Landeskog is 33. Naz Kadri is 35. Brent Burns is 41. If it’s not now, is it never? Should Bedsy get bounced before the second round, Stan Kroenke might have no choice but to change horses in a race he’d prefer to leave alone.

Sam Malinski scored in regulation for the NHL-best Avalanche, who have won three of four overall and seven straight road games.

Connor McDavid scored his 48th goal for the playoff-bound Oilers, who have lost four of five. Edmonton fell two points behind first-place Vegas in the Pacific Division.

McDavid leads the league with 134 points and needs one more to become the seventh player in league history to reach 135 at least twice. The others are Wayne Gretzky (12 times), Mario Lemieux (five), Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Marcel Dionne and Steve Yzerman.

Scott Wedgewood made 30 saves for Colorado, and Edmonton’s Connor Ingram also stopped 30 shots.

In the shootout, McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored in the first two rounds for Edmonton, and Valerie Nichushkin and Martin Necas replied for Colorado. Wedgewood then stopped a wrist shot by Jack Roslovic, opening the door for MacKinnon’s game-winner.

The Avs were missing Nazem Kadri (finger), Cale Makar (upper body) and Josh Manson (upper body) as they prepare for the playoffs.

The Oilers remained without forwards Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman, although both resumed skating with the team on Monday.

Necas was held scoreless and still needs one point to reach 100 for the first time. Only four Avalanche players have ever hit the century mark — Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.

Up next

Avalanche: At the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

Oilers: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

___

AP NHL:

The Avalanche star scored his 50th during his first shift of the night Wednesday against the Vancouver Canucks at Ball Arena. MacKinnon wheeled near the left point and snapped a shot past goalie Kevin Lankinen just 82 seconds into the contest.

MacKinnon scored No. 49 on Monday night against the Calgary Flames. It was a power-play marker late in the second period.

He also had 51 two years ago, when he swept the league MVP awards (Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsey Award). MacKinnon is the third player in franchise history to reach the milestone at least twice. Avs president Joe Sakic did so in 1995-96 and 2000-01. Michel Goulet did it four years in a row, from 1982-86, while the franchise was based in Quebec City.

Goulet holds the franchise record for goals in a season with 57. Mikko Rantanen has the Denver-based standard after scoring 55 during the 2022-23 season.

MacKinnon currently leads the NHL in goals, and could win the Rocket Richard Trophy for the first time in his career. The only player in franchise history to lead the league in goals was Milan Hejduk in 2002-03.

The Avs’ superstar now has two seasons with at least 50 goals and 70 assists. MacKinnon is the only active player with multiple 50-goal, 70-assist seasons, though Connor McDavid could join him with seven more goals this season. There are only six players in league history who have hit both of those markers more than once in a season — Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Guy Lafleur, Marcel Dionne, Phil Esposito and Steve Yzerman.

MacKinnon is the 16th player in league history to score 50-plus goals in his age-30 season or later. It has been done 23 times, most recently by Edmonton’s Zach Hyman in 2023-24. Sakic is on the list, with his career-best 54-goal season in 2000-01.

For 15 months, he was Colorado’s most popular hockey player, royalty among us. His contributions were notable, but his mere presence made a difference.

He was known for a slapshot that was more accurate than an atomic clock. And his strength remains the stuff of legend, hitting him described like crashing into a brick wall with airbags deploying.

Ray Bourque was Ray Bourque. No embellishment needed.

“He’s a special character. He’s able to pull guys with him. He has a gravity to him,” said former Avs defenseman Rob Blake. “You can see why he had the longevity he had. He is a special person.”

Bourque returned to Denver last week, celebrating a title team and an iconic memory.

Everyone knows the Avs won the Stanley Cup that season, but what remains lodged in our mental scrapbook is a single moment, the type of snapshot you can live in forever: Joe Sakic handing the Stanley Cup to Bourque.

“Well, I remember Joe on the flight home from New Jersey just asking me how we were going to do the Cup thing. And I’m like, ‘We’re not talking about that.’ I said, ‘We’re going to win the game first, and we’ll have plenty of time.’ But Joe was just a classy, great captain and an amazing person, a Hall of Fame player. And he was so conscious of how, you know, just making that moment very special for me,” Bourque said. “I’ll always appreciate that. Joe, you know, he won the Hart Trophy, but I joke about the best assist he had all year was passing me the Cup.”

After 22 seasons, Bourque raised it above his head, pumping it into the air six times before planting a kiss on the greatest trophy in sports. General manager Pierre Lacroix told Bourque to take it home that night, so he held a block party in Littleton.

“I had about 15 people at the game and I ended up turning on my street with all my family, my friends, and beeping the horn. I had a big cooler. We put the Cup on the sidewalk,” Bourque said. “We were out there with neighbors and everybody until 5:30 in the morning. So, yeah, those are the moments you never forget.”

Listening to Bourque recall his experience, you half expect goosebumps to surface on his commemorative 25th anniversary jacket.

By themselves, the memories provide joy. But when looking at the current Avs team, they should provide a jolt.

The similarities between the 2001 team and the current bunch are striking. Starting with roster construction. Lacroix, like Chris MacFarland, made moves to win everything, no exceptions, no excuses. He acquired Bourque, prying away the 19-time all-star from the Boston Bruins in a seismic trade. But it is often forgotten that the Avs did not win the Cup that season.

They were eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals in seven games.

“(Coach) Bob Hartley talked about really paying attention to the details, about being one of the best defensive teams in the league. That experience, what happened in Dallas, it made us look back at some of the stuff we needed to do better,” Bourque said. “We were talking about it from the first day of camp, and really challenging the team to really commit to that.”

Sound familiar?

The Avs reshaped their roster last season with two new goalies. They added Brock Nelson and shipped off Mikko Rantanen for Martin Necas. And they, too, watched their dreams die in Dallas. Worse, it came in the first round.

Until recently, the Avs played with energy and focus. The inevitable hiccup has arrived, creating indigestion, but not quite consternation. Colorado is 35-8-9 after losing to the Canadiens on Thursday night, seven points clear of any other team in the standings.

But the current 4-6-2 stretch is a reminder that the road to the Stanley Cup is paved in gravel, not asphalt.

“When Ray decided to come back. It was like, OK, we’re not going to get too many more chances now,” recalled star forward Peter Forsberg. ” I think this (year’s) team is ready mentally to pay the price to go all the way. They have had a couple of tough losses the last couple of years, so I think they feel they have a good shot to go all the way this year. I’d be very surprised if there was anything wrong with the motivation. They know they have a good shot at it.”

This is where it starts to get interesting for the Avs. They will soon go on Olympic hiatus, with their top players — Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar — favored to win gold medals if they can best rival Team USA.

Such an achievement should never be discounted or dismissed.

But their NHL team was put together, as it was 25 years ago, to raise the trophy. There will not be a boost from the likes of Blake this time around.

It is not needed.

The Avs have every piece necessary. However, their recent playoff past haunts them.

There is no dynasty. Their history is one title. That is not enough.

How many more times can October glory become May nightmares? How many more times can all the roster moves, all the additions, not solve the equation?

In the 2000-2001 season, a 40-year-old defenseman’s hunger provided the rudder. Those Avs were good enough to win without him. But they won because of him.

These Avs need to find their touchstone beyond the pursuit of excellence. Is it as simple as rewarding captain Gabe Landeskog for the agony he has endured with injuries the past five years? Perhaps.

But the Avs also have a 40-year-old defenseman in his 22nd season who has never won a Cup.

For the Avs to ascend to the heights for which they were built, all they have to do is make Brent Burns their Ray Bourque.

“I mean, there’s so many great players I played with that never won a championship. And I think of a guy like Dan Marino, Hall of Fame careers and all that. You know what, you can live without it,” Bourque said, smirk showing. “But I’ll tell you, it’s a lot better living with winning one and having that whole experience that comes with it.”

The Colorado Avalanche superstar scored his 400th career NHL goal Wednesday night against the St. Louis Blues, and then added No. 401 moments later. MacKinnon scored on a rebound just 3:13 into the first period on newly-minted Olympic goaltender Jordan Binnington and then scored again at 4:39 of the opening frame.

MacKinnon is the third player to score 400 with the franchise, joining Joe Sakic (625 goals) and Michel Goulet (456). He already has the most since the club moved to Denver, surpassing Sakic’s 391 on Dec. 11.

The 2024 NHL MVP after a career high 51 goals and 140 points, MacKinnon has the sixth-most goals, second-most points and second-most shots on goal in the league since the day he was drafted in 2013. MacKinnon leads the NHL with 34 goals this season and is second in points to Edmonton’s Connor McDavid.

MacKinnon has yet to win a Rocket Richard Trophy (most goals) or Art Ross Trophy (most points), but he has led the NHL in points for three straight calendar years (2023-25).

While they do not count towards his official career total, MacKinnon also has 55 career goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 95 postseason games. That is the most playoff goals in the NHL since he entered the league.

MacKinnon, who was also named MVP of the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off in February, will play in the Winter Olympics for the first time at the 2026 Games in Milan, Italy. Canada’s full 25-man roster was announced Wednesday morning, and it included MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Devon Toews.

Nathan MacKinnon broke a record previously held by Joe Sakic for most goals scored in a Colorado uniform and the Avs blitzed the Florida Panthers, 6-2, Thursday night at Ball Arena.

Members of the 1995-96 championship team were honored before the game, with the Stanley Cup on the ice. Sixteen players from the team were on the ice together, along with Chris Simon’s children and Pierre Lacroix’s wife.

“It was awesome,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “It’s a great reminder of where our team is trying to go. It was great for all of the present guys to meet some of the guys from the past that they’ve watched, that have a legacy built here.”

This was the 10th straight win at home for the Avalanche. Colorado is 12-0-2 this season at Ball Arena.

The Avs blew this game open with a trio of goals in the second period, and it could have been worse. Gavin Brindley missed the past 10 games, but made a big impact in his return. He shoveled home the rebound of a Brent Burns on a 2-on-1 at 5:05 of the second.

Brindley also set up Artturi Lehkonen for a breakaway goal at 12: 31 of the period, which gave Colorado a 5-1 advantage.

“I felt pretty good today, and was pretty jacked up to play,” Brindley said. “I just wanted to get back in there and help the team in any way I can.”

In between those two, MacKinnon scored from the top of the offensive zone. That goal was No. 392 of his career, which is one more than Sakic for the most by a member of the franchise since it moved to Denver.

A two-point night for MacKinnon pushed his NHL-leading total to 53. He also scored his league-leading 25th goal.

“He was a horse on the puck tonight,” Bednar said. “I can’t keep track of his milestones, because it seems like he’s getting one every game … but he was really good tonight.”

Martin Necas thought he had given the Avs a five-goal lead late in the second with a power-play goal, but the tally was taken off the board because the Avs were offside entering the offensive zone.

Captain Gabe Landeskog did, in fact, push Colorado’s lead to 6-1 at 6:18 of the third. It was Landeskog’s sixth goal of the season.

Sam Malinski scored on the second shift of the game to give Colorado an early lead. Malinski joined the offensive attack late from the bench, but Necas found him for a shot from the edge of the right circle and his third goal of the year just 74 seconds into this contest.

The Avs dominated the start of this game. Florida played the night before at Utah, while Colorado took Wednesday off after a four-game road trip. The Panthers are the latest team from the Eastern Conference to not enjoy the new-look geography in the West.

Colorado finished the first period with 20 shots on goal, all during the 16 minutes of 5-on-5 play.

Brock Nelson put the Avs back in front with 1:30 left in the period. He found the rebound of a Cale Makar point shot and backhanded it past Florida goalie Daniil Tarasov while being checked to the ice at the edge of the crease.

Joel Kiviranta did not play in the final two periods of this game. Brindley’s return left just Logan O’Connor on the injured list, making this the healthiest game of the season for Colorado, until Kiviranta departed. Bednar said Kiviranta is dealing with an upper-body injury and will be further evaluated on Friday.

Florida is missing its two best players (Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk) and starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky played the night before, but this was a statement win by the current NHL leaders against the 2024 and 2025 Cup winners.

“We know they’re dealing with a lot right now with injuries,” said Mackenzie Blackwood, who made 23 saves and is now 9-1-1 this season. “It’s not necessarily what you’re going to get come June, but it’s always nice to beat a team like that.”

Blackwood’s team certainly looks like it could play into June this season.

FOOTNOTES: Brindley’s return caused the most significant alterations of the forward group to date. Valeri Nichushkin returned to the second line after a few contests on the third. Brindley landed on the third line with Ross Colton at center, a first for him this year. Jack Drury dropped down to the fourth line after playing the first 30 games as the 3C.

He is telling a story from the summer of 1995, a story that illustrates how unlikely it was that magic happened. He smiles, and shows he can still provide a zinger like so many of his slap shots that first season.

“I got traded from Philadelphia to Quebec. And it was not a big city, and I was worried that we would never be able to win there. Then I am sitting at home in Sweden, and I had to figure out where the heck Denver was. I had never been. It was big. Woof. I was worried,” Forsberg told The Post. “And then we get here, and it all came together in every way.”

History repeated itself Wednesday night at the Paramount Theatre.

Rock music reverberated from the loud speakers buttressing the stage.

Alan Roach, whose voice makes anything big, introduced the 13 players. Shrill screams pierced the ceiling.

It’s been 30 years, so the memory is fuzzy, but it was impossible not to recognize these sounds, these songs, these men.

The Colorado Avalanche, nearly a year after COMSAT Video Enterprises purchased the Quebec Nordiques for $75 million and relocated the franchise to Denver, won the city’s first championship. That honor was always supposed to belong to the Broncos. But they were still finding their footing under coach Mike Shanahan, needing a few more pieces to help John Elway realize his professional dream nearly two decades in the making.

“We snuck past them,” said former star and rabble-rouser Claude Lemieux with a grin.

The Avs held a reunion to celebrate the inaugural team — Joe Sakic, Sandis Ozolinsh, Mike Ricci, Valeri Kamensky, Forsberg and Lemieux were among the headliners — that made millions in our Centennial state embrace hockey after the Colorado Rockies bolted to New Jersey in 1982.

It was a night for goosebumps, cheers and laughs, the theatre turning into McNichols Sports Arena.

The clock was set to fall of 1995. And then the summer of 1996.

Even as things were souring in Quebec, it seemed like Denver existed only as leverage to force the Canadian government to pony up money for a new arena. When the city officials refused to blink, Quebec was gone in a flash.

COMSAT owned the Nuggets, so the infrastructure was in place for a relatively seamless transition. And the owners did the right thing by letting former agent-turned-general manager Pierre Lacroix continue making the hockey decisions.

The Avs arrived in a hurry, refusing to pursue greatness in secret. Everything happened fast, from the scoring, the acquisitions, to the affection. By the ninth home game fans packed the place, starting one of the longest sellout streaks in hockey history.

If we are being honest, as many of the players were on the stage, the Avs wandered into our city as a curiosity. They walked around, ate at restaurants, Sakic recalled, without being recognized.

“I think half the fans thought we were an expansion team. So they were like, ‘Wow! These guys are really good for a new team.’ They didn’t realize how well established we were,” Lemieux said. “As it grew and got into the latter part of the season, everybody realized this is no expansion team. They knew we were really good. That we could win it all.”

Armed with young talent from a team that the New York Rangers knocked out of the playoffs the year before, the Avs needed seasoning. Lemieux, fresh off winning the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy with the Devils, joined a few days before the opener.

But something still missing. A championship would not have happened without embarrassment. Montreal goalie Patrick Roy lost a game 11-1, and his marbles. He did not like Mario Tremblay as a teammate and did not respect him as a coach. He asked out, and Lacroix, his former agent, was happy to acquire the veteran star along with winger Mike Keane.

This trade would have never happened had the Avs remained in Quebec.

“I hated these guys. All of them,” Keane said Wednesday, as his teammates joked that the feeling was mutual. “And I thought (Ricci) was a (bleep),”

As the crowd laughed, Lemieux, no stranger to starting and defusing controversies, reminded Keane of how he fell in love with long-haired, crooked-nosed Ricci just as the entire state did.

“He was voted the sexiest man in Denver,” Lemieux said. “But he didn’t get any votes from our locker room.”

It was a room full of personalities and nationalities, with humor sometimes lost in translation. Rene Corbet was told by a teammate to play “Crazy,” and after a few goals one night, the nickname stuck.

“I think I have been called it 50 times since I got here today,” Corbet said. “I played every shift like that, maybe with crazy legs.”

It fit given the 1996 postseason motto was “Crazy for the Cup!”

The thing about this team, and why it is so revered, is that the Avs did not just win a championship. They grabbed it with chest out, both arms extended, and put the cup above their head for the entire world to see. They beat all comers. They started a rivalry with the Detroit Red Wings that remains the standard for modern excellence and resentment. And they finished off the Florida Panthers with a four-game sweep when defenseman Uwe Krupp scored the iconic clincher in triple overtime.

Just mentioning that goal drew cheers from the crowd of roughly 2,000.

On this joyous evening downtown, it brought a reminder that the Avs have the juice from the past and good vibes in the present. The current Avs club is threatening to break a record for points in a season, and is a lock for the franchise’s 22nd postseason berth since taking up residence in Colorado.

“To be part of anything that starts is special,” Lemieux said. “You see what they have done here, and it makes me think back to how it all came together. For me, watching guys win for the first time was really something I will never forget.”

For Forsberg, it all goes back to the place he had to find on the map. Forsberg is the father of three kids now. He has lived a full life. But he will always remember returning to his new home in Denver with the Stanley Cup.

“Seeing that sea of people in the parade, that sticks in the mind forever. When you play the game, you are in the moment, just trying to win. And when you are finally sober for a day after winning, it hits you,” Forsberg said. “We were told we were getting a parade. Nothing could have prepared me for that moment, for what I saw from those fans that day.”

“I was OK,” the Avalanche center said through tired eyes after scoring twice against Vancouver late Tuesday night. “Yeah, it’s been a grind. Montreal (last Saturday) was hell. (Tuesday) was a little better. Just tired. Just tired.”

While he wrestles an undisclosed malady, MacKinnon’s still flying under the radar at about Mach 3 right now. As the Front Range obsesses over a 10-2 Broncos team and the Nuggets’ sudden indifference to defense, Nasty Nate is quietly painting his professional masterpiece across Ball Arena’s frozen canvas.

MacKinnon’s . He’s on a pace to put up 145 points, which would obliterate his own Avs single-season record of 140, set in the spring of 2024. No Colorado player — not Joe Sakic, not Peter Forsberg — has ever put up 46 points through the season’s first 26 games before. Only one Nordique ever opened a regular season hotter than this fall’s MacK Attack — Peter Stastny collected 48 points through his first 26 appearances of the ’87-’88 season.

“I don’t know. He’s OK,” captain Gabriel Landeskog, who’s also been under the weather, quipped after the Avs’ 3-1 victory with tongue planted firmly inside his cheek.

“No, (MacKinnon) has been — I mean, he’s super dynamic. (He’s) creating in a lot of different ways off the rush, in (the) zone, off the cycle … he commands the attention on that power play and is able to kind of dictate what we end up doing. So, (he’s) just very poised, looks calm out there, in control, and obviously, he’s got the same tremendous speed he’s always had … he’s shooting the puck well. So a lot of things are going well for him.”

Over his last four games, MacKinnon’s scored five times, collected nine points and posted a combined plus-9 in the plus/minus column. Consider this: Tuesday was his seventh multi-goal game of a relatively young season. And that total is already just one fewer (eight) than MacKinnon’s multi-goal nights over the entirety of 2024-25.

Another sign of this Colorado Avalanche team’s dominance? It kept rolling without Valeri Nichushkin

Oh, and did we mention he's been sick for most of that stretch? We did? Cripes, MacKinnon looks better with two bars on his 5G meter these days than most of his NHL peers do with four or five. Despite feeling like hot garbage, the Avs star kept his head on a swivel while keeping the Canucks on their collective heels.

"So obviously, Nate was one of the guys (in the locker room) that was sick," said Colorado coach Jared Bednar, whose 19-1-6 squad opens a four-game road swing at the Islanders on Thursday. "I don't think he was at his best (against Vancouver) on the checking side of it, because that takes a lot of energy and a lot of hard work.

"But here's the thing: You don't have to make every play. But you have to make some big plays. So that's what Nate can do. Even when he's not at his best, he still obviously has the ability — and he stays focused enough on doing the right things to make a play or two that can be difference-making plays for you. And that's what he did (Tuesday)."

The Avs started sluggishly against the Canucks until MacKinnon gave the hosts a swift kick up the caboose. The Colorado vet wristed a rebound past goaltender Kevin Lankinen from the left face-off circle with 32 seconds left in the first period — a score that got the Avs off their collective duffs and onto the scoreboard.

MacK The Knife's second goal, though, was the one that proved to be the dagger. As Colorado led 2-1 with 35 seconds remaining in the second stanza, MacKinnon chased down a loose puck in Vancouver's zone and gently tipped it in the direction of Landeskog,

When happened next was like 2018 never left. While Landy curled into the face-off circle, two Vancouver defenders trailed him the way a tail follows a comet. During a mad scramble, the Canucks somehow decided to leave NHL's points leader free to drift all alone until he'd settled on a firing position in the slot.

Landeskog didn't mess around, and MacKinnon didn't miss, launching a lasered one-timer into the twine for the Avs' third and decisive goal of the contest.

"I mean, (the game) was all right," the Colorado center reflected later. "We're not gonna score first every night. Yeah, it definitely wasn't our best. It was just kind of a boring game, a lot of whistles, a lot of icings ... it was just one of those nights. Just a muck."

Even a bug couldn't spoil Nate's Mucky Day. The masterpiece marches east, lamps lighting the way. For a sick puppy, the dawg in MacKinnon would sooner play dead than ever phone it in.

She loves presents. What 10-year-old little girl doesn’t? She wants to tell you about something more important: giving to others.

“I pick out a few gifts for myself. But I really want them for my family. It’s fun,” Johnson said. “It makes me feel so happy to make them smile.”

As Johnson sits inside a classroom at the William E. Cope Boys & Girls Club, her joy filling the room, one thought persists.

What if she did not have this chance? Imagine if this opportunity was not available?

The very notion breaks hearts, and motivated Barb Paton to act when she arrived in Denver with her husband George, the general manager of the Broncos, in 2021. She aimed to bring together the wives whose husbands are the GMs for Colorado sports teams to help.

A few months later, she created the Holiday Huddle to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver. It returns for its fourth year on Dec. 17. Donations are being accepted at through Dec. 16 to raise funds for the event and holiday parties and gifts for the 25 local clubs.

“I wanted to find a common thread for all the professional teams, and have us join forces. We found the Boys & Girls clubs worked for everyone,” Paton said. “And we all wanted to make it about the kids. We realize how important this can be for them.”

Everybody knows our professional sports teams do great work in the community. Most of it happens without us knowing about it. And that is the way they want it.

But there are times bringing attention is warranted because it increases the number of people who benefit. More lives can be improved, even if only for a day or a hour or two.

In case you haven’t noticed, it is not easy being a kid today. The challenges those who walk through the doors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver face are enormous.

Worrying about basic necessities like clothes and food makes it hard to let the mind wander in wonder during the holiday season. The kids are focused on having a safe place to eat, do homework and participate in activities and athletics.

But the idea of them not having a Christmas present hurts the soul.

“Frankly, many of our club families are facing even more hardships. There are a lot of demands on the limited income that they have, and we are all watching what¶¶Òõap happening in this kind of volatile time,” said Erin Porteous, chief executive officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver. “Barb was like, ‘Let’s make this joyful for all the kids.’ It¶¶Òõap been so fun to watch it happen and watch it grow. Those who are there leave with hearts overflowing.”

Talking about the event brings Chandra MacFarland, wife of Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland, to tears.

She did not know what to expect when she first went. There were 120 kids from kindergarten to 12th grade in attendance as there will be again next month, including Johnson. They are invited as the highest earners of bucks, which they receive for finishing tasks like reading assignments, art projects or helping advisers tidy up classrooms and gyms throughout the year.

Stations are set up for the kids, everything from building gingerbread houses to wrapping gifts.

“The gift wrapping is where I want to be every time. The kids bring stuff in and my heart just melts. They start wrapping, and saying, ‘This one is for my mom and she is going to be so happy when she opens it.’ You watch this happen and you can’t believe it,” MacFarland said. “Literally every gift they have they are giving to someone in their family. It keeps happening over and over. They really show what is Christmas is about.”

These gestures are the reason Paton and MacFarland — and all the others tethered by a group chat — want to keep this tradition alive. These kids are amazing. Selfless, caring.

“I like seeing how happy it makes the families, and my family. One of my favorite memories was getting my little brother (Kapono) three monster trucks,” Montoya said. “It was so great seeing him really happy after he opened it and getting to play with the toys at home. I wanted him to have something more than anything else.”

“Seeing the looks on their faces, it is really special. They are having such a great time,” Bednar said. “Some grab the first gift. Some take 45 minutes. It is really cool to spend time with them and see how they process all of it. It is just such a great night.”

Paton wanted to impact the lives of kids, wanted the wives to come together to achieve it. As those who are able to help others know, it impacts you in ways you never anticipated.

A gift at the Holiday Huddle might be the best moment of a child’s holiday season.

Paton does not want them to miss out.

“It is just a great day of giving. There are a lot of people there and kids’ personalties come out. You might have one laughing and an another throwing a toy to (Avs president) Joe Sakic so he can wrap it up,” Paton said. “And the kids, they are so empathetic. It just tugs at your heart. It makes you want do everything you can to bring them joy.”