"MVP! MVP!"
Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist Sunday in the Avalanche's 5-1 win against Detroit, prompting the Pepsi Center crowd (well, those who weren't wearing Red Wings jerseys) to chant their support for him in the third period and while he was being interviewed on the ice after the game.
Have to agree that MacKinnon should win the Hart Trophy if the Avalanche continue this remarkable ride and make the Stanley Cup playoffs.
I shudder to think where the Avalanche be without MacKinnon, whose 38 goals are five behind the 43 scored by Washington's
Alex Ovechkin and Winnipeg's
Patrik Laine, and whose 89 points are four behind the 93 put up by Tampa Bay's
Nikita Kucherov despite missing eight games with a shoulder injury.
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MacKinnon picked up his fourth NHL star of the week Monday.
St. Louis defenseman
Alex Pietrangelo was named first star, MacKinnon second and Toronto goalie
Curtis McElhinney third.
Pietrangelo had nine points (three goals, six assists) in four games. MacKinnon had eight points (six goals, two assists) in four games. McElhinney went 3-0-0 with a shutout, 1.57 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage.
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After an embarrassing 2016-17 season that saw the Avalanche finish with 48 points -- 46 out of the playoffs -- they have 86 points with 10 games to go and hold the first wild card playoff position in the Western Conference while icing the youngest team in the league.
MacKinnon has a chance to win the scoring title; his 38 goals are the most by an Avalanche player since
Milan Hejduk won the Rocket Richard Trophy with 50 in 2002-03; he's recorded three or more points in 13 games, and has piled up 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) in an active 12-game point streak.
"For me, if we get in the playoffs he's the MVP," coach Jared Bednar said. "I can't imagine there's another player that means more for their team and is doing more for their team than what Nate's doing for us. That's just the way I see it. I mean, he is the driving force to our offense. I think he deserves it ... but you have to get in the playoffs and then for me he becomes the leading candidate in my mind."
As for those "MVP" chants ...
"That's cool," MacKinnon said. "I appreciate the support the fans have for me and I appreciate the fact they have my back and are rooting for me to win an award. But I’m just really focused on this playoff race. I think I just need to stay focused and not worry about anything else."
The Avalanche are on a 7-1-3 roll heading into Tuesday's game in Chicago, 5-1-1 at home and 2-0-2 on the road.
"Everyone is very confident in each other," MacKinnon said. "That's what makes for a very good team. Everyone really trusts each other on this team. We have a full group of guys committed to the same thing."
The playoff push has been bolstered with the return of defenseman
Erik Johnson, who played 19:52 Sunday after missing 13 games with his shoulder injury.
It won't come as a surprise that MacKinnon is Johnson's top Hart Trophy candidate.
"How do you not give it to him?" he said. "If he's on Montreal, Toronto, he wins for sure. I think he's leading for points per game. Where we'd be without him I don't know. He's got to be the frontrunner in my opinion. It'd be a crime if he didn't get it."
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