Nathan MacKinnon is putting together an almost unflappable Hart Trophy case with the 2023-24 Colorado Avalanche, and the superstar added an incredible feat to an NHL-best season on Wednesday night.

MacKinnon scored four times in a 6-2 rout of the Washington Capitals at home, and in the process, became the first player since 2007-08 to record multiple four-goal games in a single season.

The last one to do it? The captain that MacKinnon lined up next to at Ball Arena on Wednesday: Alex Ovechkin.

That happened to be the best regular-season of the Russian superstar's career; The Great Eight scored a career-high 65 goals and 112 points. Ovi also won the Hart as the league's Most Valuable Player that year, and the award is looking like MacKinnon's to lose 16 years later.

Nathan MacKinnon is a machine

Nathan MacKinnon on one side looking happy, Wayne Gretzky on other side looking impressed, COL Avalanche logo in image, hockey rink in background

The show goes on for the Halifax, Nova Scotia native, who added an assist and a natural hat trick to extend his season-opening home point streak to 24 games.

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

That's an understatement. MacKinnon is up to a ridiculous 30 goals and 82 points in just 48 games — tops in the league, and two ahead of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov.

“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,” Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar reflected.

“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 dialled 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 all the real, true competitors that are dialed in to winning, that's the way you want it.”

A historic season continues for Nathan MacKinnon, who is well-deserving of his first Hart Trophy but is more focused on helping the powerhouse Avalanche on their chase for a second Stanley Cup in three seasons.