Nathan MacKinnon lauds $49,000,000 hat-trick hero in 100-point game

Nathan MacKinnon scored twice as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-4 at Ball Arena on Saturday. One goal came on the power play, and the other was an empty-netter. MacKinnon became the first player this season to reach 100 points, with 27 goals and 73 assists in 64 games.

After the game, Nathan MacKinnon praised Valeri Nichushkin, who had three goals and an assist.

“Obviously, Val with the hat trick is amazing. He’s been so good since he’s been back,” MacKinnon said. (via NHL.com) “I don’t think we’ve lost. He just definitely deserves that big night.”

Nichushkin recorded his first career regular-season hat trick. He has been effective this season, scoring 15 goals on 70 shots and adding eight assists in 26 games.

Since returning from injury, he has registered four goals, two assists, and 18 shots in five games. He is currently in the third season of his eight-year, $49,000,000 contract signed in July 2022.

The Avalanche have a 38-24-2 record, placing third in the Central Division. They are averaging 3.30 goals per game. Nathan MacKinnon leads the team in scoring, and they are currently on a five-game win streak. In that duration, the Avalanche has dominated their opponents with a goal difference of 28-11.

Apart from Nathan MacKinnon, the Avalanche coach praised Valeri Nichushkin

The Colorado Avalanche won 7-4 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, scoring five straight goals to complete their comeback.

Valeri Nichushkin opened the scoring 56 seconds into the game, deflecting Ryan Lindgren’s shot past Anthony Stolarz. Mitch Marner tied it 1-1 at 3:04 with a wrist shot past Mackenzie Blackwood. Nichushkin gave Colorado a 2-1 lead at 6:08 with a shot from the right face-off dot.

“I think he's elite. One of the best-in-the-League 200-foot players,” coach Jared Bednar said about Nichushkin, (via NHL.com) “There's guys that come to mind that some of them play different positions, like, I think, [Aleksander] Barkov, [Jack] Eichel, and you're trying to find big wingers like that. He's one of those guys. To me, he's one of the top 200-foot players in the game.”

John Tavares tied it 2-2 and Marner put Toronto ahead 3-2 at 16:04, one-timing Bobby McMann’s pass. Tavares made it 4-2 at 12:45 of the second period with a power-play goal.

Joel Kiviranta cut the lead to 4-3 and Jonathan Drouin tied the game 4-4 at 11:55 of the third period. Nathan MacKinnon gave Colorado a 5-4 lead at 15:45 with a power-play goal. Nichushkin and MacKinnon scored empty net goals to secure the 7-4 win.