Nathan MacKinnon isn’t letting a little illness slow him down - and neither are the Colorado Avalanche.
Despite battling through what he described as a physically draining stretch, MacKinnon continues to play like a man possessed. After a three-point night against Montreal, he followed it up with two more goals in Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Vancouver.
That’s five points in two games while under the weather. Not bad for someone who admits he’s been “just tired” and “sitting around the last few days.”
“It’s been a grind. Montreal was hell.
Tonight was a little better,” MacKinnon said after the win. And yet, even at less than 100%, he still looked like the most dangerous player on the ice.
That’s been the theme of the Avalanche season so far: adversity shows up, and they just keep pushing forward.
This isn’t the first time illness has made its way through the locker room. We know Gabe Landeskog, Parker Kelly, and MacKinnon have been battling something, and odds are, they’re not the only ones.
In previous seasons, a bug like this might’ve disrupted the team’s rhythm - at least for a game or two. But not this group.
Not this year.
And it’s not just illness. Injuries, too, have tried to trip up the Avs.
Goaltender Scott Wedgewood has been playing some of the best hockey of his career, and in years past, losing a netminder in that kind of form might’ve been enough to derail a game or two. But again, Colorado hasn’t blinked.
Through 26 games, the Avalanche are 19-1-6 - a record that puts them in rare company. Only one other team in NHL history has gone this deep into a season with just a single regulation loss. That’s not just impressive - that’s historic.
There’s a resilience to this team that jumps off the ice. Whether it’s MacKinnon gutting through fatigue and still torching defenses, or the rest of the lineup stepping up when key players are down or sick, Colorado keeps finding ways to win. They’re not just surviving tough stretches - they’re thriving in them.
This is a team that’s locked in, deep, and battle-tested. And if this is what they look like when they’re not feeling their best, the rest of the league should be on high alert when they are.