Nathan MacKinnon hit another milestone for the Colorado Avalanche

When the Colorado Avalanche are being talked about, Nathan MacKinnon is one of the first names that always comes to mind. One of the Avalanche’s alternate captains, MacKinnon is easily one of the best players in franchise history. After becoming the 100th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 career points recently, MacKinnon hit another milestone when he stepped on the ice in Ottawa Thursday night.

The second the puck dropped, Thursday officially was the 200th consecutive game that the reigning Hart Memorial Trophy winner played in. MacKinnon is already fourth in franchise history in games played with 861, but Thursday’s milestone showed why he is always the first name brought up when talking about the Avalanche.

He is always on the ice for this team, and is always giving the game his all. He is 112 games shy of the franchise record, set by Dale Hunter, a center who played for the franchise in Quebec in the 1980s. He played 312 consecutive games from Oct. 9, 1980 to March 13, 1984.

The last time MacKinnon missed time for the Avalanche was in December 2022 when he missed four weeks with an upper body injury.

While 200 consecutive games is very impressive, it’s not even close to the streaks that the top iron men in the NHL have had. The current record is 1,064 games, held by Phil Kessel. Also at the top of the list is a fan-favorite for Avalanche fans in Andrew Cogliano. The 2022 Stanley Cup Champion is eighth all time with 830 games played from 2007 to 2018.

MacKinnon is currently first in the NHL in total points with 105, four points ahead of Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl. Despite his 2023-24 campaign in which he racked up 140 points and won the Hart Trophy, he has never won the Art Ross Trophy for most points in the league. With 12 games left in the season, he is the current odds-on favorite to win the Art Ross and has the third-best odds to win another Hart Trophy.