MacKinnon gets 1,000th NHL point for Avalanche

Nathan MacKinnon surpassed 1,000 NHL points by getting two assists for the Colorado Avalanche in a 3-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday.

MacKinnon reached the milestone 31 seconds into the third period with the secondary assist on a goal by Artturi Lehkonen, who redirected a shot from Devon Toews.

The 29-year-old forward is the 100th player in NHL history to get 1,000 points, and the third to do so in Colorado/Quebec Nordiques history, joining Joe Sakic (1,641) and Peter Stastny (1,048).

"I think it's cool. It's fun to accomplish something with friends and teammates and stuff," MacKinnon said. "I don't know, it's a number. It's a cool milestone, for sure, and I don't know, something to reflect on, I guess.

"You want team success, you want everyone to celebrate accomplishments and wins and everything like that. This thing is just for me, but it's a long road and ups and downs, and definitely a cool moment, though."

Among active players, MacKinnon is the fourth-fastest to reach the milestone, doing so in 856 games. Only Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (659), and Sidney Crosby (757) and Evgeni Malkin (848) of the Pittsburgh Penguins reached the mark in fewer games.

“I think it's big. I think he'll downplay it, as he always does,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "But I think when it's all said and done for him, he'll remember these milestones and appreciate it more than he does now, because he's so focused by the moment. It's not a big deal to him now, but I think when it's all done and he gets a little older and starts looking back on his career and other people look back on his career, they're going to be big moments.”

MacKinnon, who won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player last season, leads the NHL with 102 points (27 goals, 75 assists) in 65 games this season.

"I'm proud of him," Bednar said. "I'm really proud of him, because you see players grow and change in so many different ways, and like when you're around them every day you don't really notice. ... But like year over year, when I look back at what he's done and the milestones he's hit, and the production that's come along with it, his growth on the defensive side of it ... what mattered most to him was [winning]. That's what I love about Nate. That's why he downplays all this, because, I think a lot of it deep down, he really doesn't care. He just wants to win, and that's what drives him, and I think that's the way to be because it's not about him. It's about our team. And so deep down, that's the type of leader he is, and he drives the standard."

Selected by the Avalanche with the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, MacKinnon has 1,001 points (362 goals, 639 assists) in 856 games, including 795 points (287 goals, 508 assists) in 556 games since the start of the 2017-18 season, which ranks third in the NHL.

MacKinnon also has 114 points (48 goals, 66 assists) in 88 Stanley Cup Playoff games and helped the Avalanche win the Cup in 2022.

“He came in here as an 18-year-old kid, right?” Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson said before the win against the Blackhawks. “He had all the talent in the world and had a lot of pressure on him. Everyone could see the skill makeup that he had, and as he got a little bit older into his mid-20s, I think something clicked for him where I don't know if mentally he just figured it out and decided that he's going to pour all his resources into being the best player he can be, whether that's physical preparation, mental preparation. He just does whatever it takes to win, and everyone just sees him as a superstar, a great hockey player every single night.

“But he does so much away from the game that helps him be at his best that no one sees, and all he cares about is winning, and he drags everybody into the fight because you can just tell that's all that matters to him, and we know that's all that matters to him. So for us, he leads by example because he does all the right things, and he drags everyone else into it with him. So, fortunate to play with him for almost his whole career.”

Among his accolades, along with the Hart Trophy, MacKinnon has won the Calder Trophy as the League's rookie of the year (2013-14), the Lady Byng Trophy, which is awarded to the player voted to best combine sportsmanship, gentlemanly conduct and ability (2019-20), and the Ted Lindsay Award, which is given annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the NHL Players' Association (2023-24).

"It's impressive, especially at the age he's at," Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno said. "... Pretty incredible career, and it's a credit to the type of player and the way he attacks his game. He's a an unreal competitor, and he's a great ambassador for our game, too. It's impressive to see his age, the abilities and and what he's done to this organization, and I'm sure there's going to be a lot more points to come."

NHL.com independent correspondent Ryan Boulding contributed to this report.