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The Colorado Avalanche got off to a shaky start to the 2024-25 season. They responded to that move by making two goalie trades just a few days apart, re-setting the position. Now, Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood will play goalie for the team. Those moves were made because their offense always shows up to play. The Avalanche beat the Penguins 6-2 on Tuesday night and Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen made history in the process.
Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen combined on the @Avalanche's opening goal and moved atop an all-time franchise list as a duo.
How many more goals will they factor on tonight? #NHLStats: https://t.co/QKNcc0PH1S pic.twitter.com/6IsD20nQE8
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 11, 2024
MacKinnon and Rantanen have been a dynamic duo for the Avalanche for the past decade. They passed the Stastny brothers, who combined for all of those goals with the Quebec Nordiques. Neither of the brothers ever played for the Avalanche but are part of franchise history from their time in Quebec.
MacKinnon won his first Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player last season. He won that title largely because of Mikko Rantanen's greatness. MacKinnon scored 23 goals off of Rantanen's assists and had 21 assists on his goals, both the highest of any Avalanche teammate. Their connection has continued this year with five MacKinnon goals from Rantanen and 12 Rantanen goals from MacKinnon.
The Avalanche are pushing for their second Stanley Cup with this core. Their goaltender trades indicate their all-in mentality and MacKinnon and Rantanen are the reasons why.
Nathan MacKinnon makes more Avalanche history on Tuesday
Both MacKinnon and Rantanen had five points against the Penguins. For the former, it was one goal and four assists that helped him make history. Nathan MacKinnon is now the third player in Avalanche history to reach 600 career assists, according to the NHL Player's Association.
With that dish, Nathan MacKinnon becomes the third player in @Avalanche history to reach 600 NHL assists 👏 pic.twitter.com/6GRsicjcgh
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) December 11, 2024
Peter Stastny and Joe Sakic are the only other players to reach the milestone with the Avalanche franchise. Both players are Hall of Famers and Sakic is now the President of Hockey Operations in Colorado. MacKinnon is close to separating himself from everyone else in franchise history besides these two all-time greats.
MacKinnon is fourth in Avalanche history in points, just one behind career Nordique Michel Goulet, also a Hall of Famer. While they are a relatively young franchise, the Avs have a great history and MacKinnon is a massive part of it. A second Stanley Cup would be huge for his legacy, especially considering Sakic won two of his own.
MacKinnon and Rantanen both have a chance to do something this year that solidified Sakic's legacy. Their boss was a key member of Canada's 2002 Olympic Gold Medal winning team. MacKinnon is on Team Canada and Rantanen is on Team Finland for February's 4 Nations Face-Off. An international crown would help each of their Hall-of-Fame cases.
