According to Jackie Kay, Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon of Halifax, Nova Scotia, has been named the National Hockey League’s first Star of the Month for December 2023 sbnation.com On Wednesday. He scored 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points in 15 games.
MacKinnon also set the Colorado Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques franchise record for most points in a single month. Peter Stastny scored 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points with the Nordiques in February 1981.
MacKinnon was also a +2 in December with four penalty minutes, 12 power play points, a game-winning goal, 59 shots on goal, 13 hits, nine blocked shots and 131 faceoff wins. MacKinnon’s game-winning goal came on December 11 in the Avalanche’s 6-5 win over the Calgary Flames. Four minutes and 30 seconds before the end of regular time, he scored a goal through Valeri Nichushkin and Mikko Rantanen, breaking a 5-5 deadlock.
In the 2023-24 season, MacKinnon recorded 20 goals and 41 assists for 61 points. He is a +8 with 28 penalty minutes, 25 power play points, three game-winning goals, 169 shots on goal, 292 face-off wins, 31 blocked shots, 27 hits, 20 takeaways and 43 giveaways.
The Avalanche currently have a record of 24 wins, 11 regulation losses and three overtime losses, a combined 51 points. They are tied with the New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks for the second most points in the NHL. Only the Boston Bruins have more points than Colorado this season with 52 points.
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