The Colorado Avalanche may have the best record in the NHL, but they find it difficult to win games when superstar Nathan MacKinnon is not allowed to compete. That's what happened in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. MacKinnon was thrown out of the game and hit with a major penalty when he collided with Edmonton goaltender Connor Ingram late in the second period.
MacKinnon had been skating across the crease when his knee made contact with Ingram. The Oilers goaltender was hurt on the play and he had to be replaced by Tristan Jarry. MacKinnon was sent to the locker room and he was lost to the Avalanche for the rest of the game.
The NHL rescinded that penalty Thursday. There was clearly no intent on MacKinnon's part to injure Ingram, so the league took away the major penalty status. The reason that's an important distinction is that players get suspended for a game if they get two of those major penalties in the same season. At this point, MacKinnon does not have to worry about that issue.
It was clear that MacKinnon did not simply drive into Ingram. He was knocked off course by Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse. MacKinnon still made contact with the goaltender, but the impetus was provided by Nurse.
He is the dominant scorer for the Avalanche and he goes into Thursday night's game as the NHL's second-leading scorer with 43 goals and 61 assists for 104 points. MacKinnon is tied with Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and six points behind Connor McDavid, the NHL's leading scorer.
