Avalanche’s Cale Makar breaks franchise record for most playoff points by a defenseman
During the first period of Game 1 between the Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets, defenseman Cale Makar assisted on Nathan MacKinnon’s goal, making franchise history.
Makar became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer for defenseman, recording his 66th career point and passing Sandis Ozolinsh. He also moved into eighth place on the franchise’s all-time playoff points list, regardless of position, and is now one point back of teammate Gabriel Landeskog for seventh.
Cale Makar earned his 50th career playoff assist on one of his team’s three first-period goals to register 66th career playoff point and break a tie with Sandis Ozolinsh (65) for the most in @Avalanche / Nordiques history by a defenseman.#NHLStats: https://t.co/c724eC62rK pic.twitter.com/kL9wsrdiZO
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 21, 2024
The milestones didn’t stop there. With the assist on MacKinnon’s goal, Makar became the third-fastest defenseman in NHL history to reach 50 playoff assists (Bobby Orr did it in 59 games, Al MacInnis did it in 61).
The 25-year-old hit career highs in assists and points this past regular season, with 69 assists for 90 points. Through five full NHL seasons, Makar has 86 goals and 250 assists for 336 points in 315 career games.
During the Avalanche’s 2022 Stanley Cup run, Makar had eight goals and 21 assists for 29 points in 20 games, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy.
The Avalanche finished the 2023-24 regular season with a 50-25-7 record and 107 points, third in the Central Division. They were three points behind the Jets and six behind the division-winning Dallas Stars.
MacKinnon led the team in scoring with 51 goals and 89 assists for 140 points, second in the league behind the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov.