Nathan MacKinnon added an unexpected wrinkle to Colorado’s season opener Wednesday night in Denver: the Avalanche star dropped the gloves.
With less than seven minutes left in the third period and Colorado leading 6-4, MacKinnon and Los Angeles Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke exchanged heavy whacks while battling in front of the Kings’ net. The sequence escalated quickly, and the two squared off before MacKinnon landed several rights on the young blueliner.
Colorado finished off an 8-4 win, with MacKinnon putting together a two-goal night in 17:44 of ice time. Clarke logged 18:57 and finished with two blocked shots.
Afterward, MacKinnon said he was the one who challenged Clarke to fight.
“It happens. It’s an intense game, and he didn’t say a great word to me, and I didn’t like the word, and yeah we fought,” he said.
The fighting major was only the second of MacKinnon’s NHL career. His other came in December 2024 against Utah Mammoth defenseman Barrett Hayton, a game in which he also had three assists.
MacKinnon is now in his 14th NHL season and has piled up 422 goals and 722 assists for 1,144 points in 951 regular-season games. He has also posted four straight 100-point seasons dating back to 2022-23.
In the playoffs, he has 62 goals and 78 assists for 140 points in 108 games. He was a key part of Colorado’s 2022 Stanley Cup run, scoring 13 goals and adding 11 assists for 24 points that spring.
MacKinnon followed a 2023-24 season in which he finished with 51 goals and 89 assists for 140 points by winning the Hart Memorial Trophy. Last season, his 53 goals earned him the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the league’s top goal scorer.
Clarke, 23, is entering his third season as a full-time NHL player. He has 15 goals and 66 assists for 81 points in 186 career regular-season games, along with two goals and an assist in 10 playoff appearances.
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