Cale Makar made history with two goals and four assists, achieving the first six-point game by a defenseman in Colorado Avalanche history, as they defeated the San Jose Sharks 7-3. Nathan MacKinnon contributed two goals and three assists, extending his home points streak to 18 games and moving closer to 1,000 career points. Jonathan Drouin, Joel Kiviranta, and Martin Necas also scored, while the Avalanche improved to 4-0 on their homestand. The Sharks’ goals came from Fabian Zetterlund, Macklin Celebrini, and William Eklund. Both teams recently traded for goaltenders, with Mackenzie Blackwood proving strong for Colorado.
DENVER — Cale Makar registered two goals and four assists, achieving the first six-point game by a defenseman in the franchise’s history, while Nathan MacKinnon contributed two goals and three assists to extend his home points streak to 18 games during the Colorado Avalanche’s 7-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.
MacKinnon is now just three points shy of joining the ranks of Joe Sakic and Peter Stastny as the only skaters in franchise history to hit the 1,000-point milestone.
The Avalanche also saw goals from Jonathan Drouin, Joel Kiviranta, and Martin Necas as they improved to 4-0 on their six-game homestand. The team has achieved 12 consecutive wins against the Sharks, dominating former Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev in the process.
In the midst of the game, Colorado bolstered their offense further by trading with the New York Islanders to acquire forward Brock Nelson.
The Sharks’ goals came from Fabian Zetterlund, Macklin Celebrini, and William Eklund, concluding a seven-game road trip with a 2-3-2 record. Earlier on Thursday, San Jose traded forward Nico Sturm to Florida.
Both teams confronted their previous goaltenders after a December 9 trade that sent Mackenzie Blackwood to Colorado and Georgiev to San Jose.
Blackwood recorded 31 saves, whereas Georgiev turned aside 25 shots.
Late in the game, official Kilian McNamara left the ice after taking a puck to the head.
Sharks: San Jose has not defeated the Avalanche since May 5, 2021.
Avalanche: Forward Jimmy Vesey made his debut with the Avalanche after being acquired from the New York Rangers last weekend.
Kiviranta sparked the scoring frenzy with a short-handed goal just 4:19 into the game.
Makar scored his 39th career power-play goal, tying Sandis Ozolinsh for the most by an Avalanche/Nordiques defenseman.
Both teams will take the ice on Saturday, with Colorado facing off against Toronto and San Jose hosting the New York Islanders.
——
AP NHL: