Nathan MacKinnon continued to prove why he’ll be representing the Colorado Avalanche at the NHL All-Star game later this month, and the Avs as a team continued to show why they are the worst team in the league. MacKinnon’s lone, unassisted tally was the only point the offense-starved Avalanche could muster as Colorado notched loss number 26 on the season, 4-1 to the Anaheim Ducks.
Anaheim struck first when Jakob Silfverberg blocked a Francois Beauchemin shot and took the puck the other way on an odd-man rush, beating Semyon Varlamov top shelf. Varlamov was making his first start since Dec. 22 when a groin injury sidelined him. MacKinnon proved he could also score unassisted, picking up a loose puck at center ice amid two Anaheim defenders, bursting past both and dekeing John Gibson with a beautiful backhand breakaway to level the score.
The Ducks would answer 51 seconds later, though, when Rickard Rakell used Corey Perry to screen a shot from distance to give Anaheim a lead they would not relinquish. Ryan Kesler added a goal in the second period and Perry would find the back of the net in the third to give Colorado their 11th home loss in the last 12 games at Pepsi Center.
Colorado continues a four-game homestand on Saturday against Nashville. Puck drops at 1 p.m. MT.
