Nathan MacKinnon didn’t need to find the net Saturday night for the Colorado Avalanche’s top line to blow the game open.
That’s the part that should worry the rest of the league.
Colorado rolled past the St. Louis Blues 6-1, and MacKinnon finished without a goal but still left his fingerprints all over the win with three assists.
Martin Necas added two goals and an assist, while Artturi Lehkonen chipped in a goal and an assist. Put it together, and the Avalanche’s top line accounted for three goals and eight points.
It was the second straight game this group looked dangerous in a different way. On Opening Night, MacKinnon scored twice in Colorado’s 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings.
Against St. Louis, he turned distributor, helping set up Cale Makar’s opening goal before sending a cross-ice feed to Necas for Colorado’s second goal.
Later, he picked up another assist on Lehkonen’s second-period score.
Different night, same outcome: a Colorado victory.
What makes this line such a problem is the flexibility. Teams can’t load up solely on MacKinnon and hope the rest of the offense quiets down. Necas is more than capable of finishing plays, and Lehkonen brings the kind of game that makes a line hard to handle shift after shift.
Necas’ first goal Saturday came when he found room in the left circle and MacKinnon spotted him right away, threading the puck across for the finish. His second came late in the second period and pushed Colorado to a 6-0 lead. Necas ended the night with three points and reached 50 goals as an Avalanche in just 110 games, a mark only six players in franchise history have hit faster.
Lehkonen may not draw the same attention as the other two, but his impact is obvious. He forces turnovers, works the dirty areas and doesn’t need a steady stream of touches to matter. He helped set up Necas’ first goal, then finished one himself for his third goal in only two games.
That’s the formula Colorado is leaning into: MacKinnon driving the play, Necas bringing another elite scoring threat, and Lehkonen doing the grunt work that turns pressure into chances.
Two games is a tiny sample, sure. But it’s already enough to see how difficult this trio can be to defend.
Colorado has scored 14 goals through its first two games, matching the franchise record set by the 1992-93 Quebec Nordiques. And the scoring hasn’t come from one source. The Avalanche are getting production throughout the lineup, which is a big reason the offense has looked so overwhelming early.
The real headache for opponents is simple: Colorado can come at you with a 100-point winger on one side and a relentless Lehkonen on the other, and MacKinnon can make either one look unstoppable.
In Other News...
Artturi Lehkonen Is Giving The Avalanche A Tough Decision Fast
Artturi Lehkonen has wasted no time reminding the Avalanche why he matters in the kind of games that shape a season. Through two nights, he has three goals and the best two-game opening of his career, a sharp start that fits the reputation he has built in Colorado as a player who shows up with energy, discipline and a knack for making the right play when the stakes rise.
It also puts the Avalanche in an awkward spot early, because Lehkonen is in the final year of his contract and there is still no new deal in place. Coaches and teammates have long praised the consistency and competitiveness that make him so useful, and this kind of start only sharpens the question of how aggressively Colorado will need to act if it wants to keep one of its most reliable pieces from becoming a bigger story later on. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Fans Got An Early Look At A Goalie Worth Watching
A new face in the crease gave Avalanche fans an early reason to pay attention Friday night, as Colorado Eagles goaltender Ilya Nabokov stepped into his AHL debut and immediately looked the part. Nabokov stopped 32 shots to help the Eagles blank the Tucson Roadrunners 2-0, while Nikita Prishchepov and Jake Wise supplied the scoring and Gustav Stjernberg and Yanick Turcotte picked up assists.
The Eagles did a lot of the little things well around their rookie goalie, even if the power play never clicked on four chances. Their penalty kill was perfect, and the win offered a tidy first glimpse of a goaltender who could become one to watch as the Avalanche organization keeps an eye on its depth in net. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche 2-0 Start Has Fans Dreaming About How Complete This Team Looks
A 2-0 start can feel routine in October, but the Avalanche have already made it look a lot bigger than that. They have scored 14 goals across their first two games, tying a franchise record, and the early returns have the look of a team that can beat opponents in more than one way. The opener was high-scoring but loose in its own end, a reminder that even the best lineups can still have some sorting out to do.
Colorados response came in the second game, when the defensive side tightened up enough to fuel a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Head coach Jared Bednar and several players pointed to the adjustments and the better structure as the difference, which is the sort of sign that tends to excite a fan base. The scoring has been there from the start, but the more intriguing part is how quickly the Avalanche are showing they can clean up the details too. [Read more 🡒]