Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon records 1,000th career NHL point

Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon recorded his 1,000th point Monday night, becoming the 100th player in NHL history to do so.

MacKinnon achieved the feat 31 seconds into the third period of Monday’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, dropping a pass to Devon Toews whose point shot was tipped by Artturi Lehkonen to make it 1-0.

MacKinnon also assisted on a Martin Necas goal just minutes later, giving him 75 assists on the season. Combined with his 27 goals, MacKinnon has a league-leading 102 points in 65 games this season.

Now in his 12th NHL season, the 29-year-old MacKinnon has 362 goals and 639 assists for 1,001 total points in 856 career regular-season games. Taken No. 1 overall by the Avalanche in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, MacKinnon won the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year, and since then, he’s won the Hart Trophy, the Ted Lindsay Award, the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, and helped Colorado win the Stanley Cup in 2022.

In 2012-13, MacKinnon was on the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, scoring 32 goals and 43 assists for 75 points in 44 games. He went on to score 11 goals and 33 points in 17 playoff games, helping the Mooseheads win a league championship, then leading them to a Memorial Cup championship.

The Avalanche would go on to win 3-0, giving them a record of 39-24-2, and improving their home record to 22-10-2. They’re now in third place in the Central Division, behind the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets.

While MacKinnon has a 27-point gap over second-place Cale Makar, who has 24 goals and 51 assists for 75 points, Artturi Lehkonen is third with 41 points by way of 27 goals and 14 assists.

Colorado’s next game is Tuesday when they head to the State of Hockey to face the Minnesota Wild.