The New York Rangers are building momentum, and Blueshirt fans have every reason to feel a spark of hope. After a rocky start to the season, the Rangers have turned things around with a 4-1-1 record in January, including a two-game win streak.
As they head into Colorado on Tuesday before finally wrapping up their road trip on Thursday, the Blueshirts will undoubtedly look to extend the winning streak to three. And its certainly doable, with the teams having comparable records. The Rangers sit with an overall record of 20-20-2 (W2) compared to Colorado's 26-17-1 (L1).
But records aside, the Avalanche does have the currently NHL-point-leader on their roster. The Rangers will have to shut him down in order to gain another win during the Jan. 14th matchup.
Nathan MacKinnon
Alternate captain Nathan MacKinnon currently leads the league in points with 68. This is a five-point difference to the next player — Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl (63).
He has appeared in 44 games so far this year (+15), posting 15 goals. He currently also leads the league in assists, with 53.
MacKinnon was drafted as the No. 1 pick in 2013 by Colorado. He has played his entire career with the Avalanche franchise.
From the same town as star Sidney Crosby, the Nova Scotia native had the second-longest in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky's 40 with the Los Angeles Kings in 1988-89 last year. That same year he also earned the Hart Trophy — as he was voted the NHL's most valuable player. Additionally, he won the Ted Lindsay Award — going to the most outstanding player as voted by the NHL Players’ Association.
In 2024 he was named to the NHL First All-Star Team for the first time in his career. He has played in the NHL All-Star Game five times (2017, 2018, 2020, 2023 and 2024).
MacKinnon made his NHL debut with the Avalanche on Oct. 2, 2013; at 18 years and 31 days, he was the youngest player in franchise history. His two assists sparked Colorado to a 6-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks.
His career has only been on the up since. And after not scoring a point in Colorado's most recent matchup on Jan. 11, MacKinnon will be hungry.
How to Tune In
Puck drop for the Avalanche hosting the Rangers is slated for 9:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday night. The game will be streamed via ESPN+ and be sure to tune into our Twitter for live updates.