NHL: Ottawa Senators at Colorado Avalanche - Source: Imagn — Nathan MacKinnon's 10-game goal drought (Source: Imagn)

Avs HC Jared Bednar makes his feelings known about Nathan MacKinnon's 10-game goalless drought after 4-1 loss to Oilers

Modified Dec 01, 2024 13:02 GMT

Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar talked about Nathan MacKinnon’s 10-game goal drought after their 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. MacKinnon has not scored a goal in his last 10 games. He last scored a goal in Colorado's 6-4 win against Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 9. MacKinnon recorded 7 shots on goal in 23:29 minutes of ice time against Edmonton.

Bednar said MacKinnon is playing hard and contributing, even if he hasn’t scored recently.

"We're asking him to do a lot, on a nightly basis, those guys are playing a lot, playing all situations,” Bednar said. “I don't know about the dry spell for Nate, (he) hasn't scored in a little bit, but I think he's still been impactful and playing hard."

"So it just seems like, if it isn't those guys scoring, scoring is tough to come by, you know? And, yeah, you got guys on the other team. We're trying to check against multiple lines with their line, and it's some heavy lifting for those guys right now. So it seems like some nights are running out of gas."

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Previously, Nathan MacKinnon recorded 5 shots on goal in 26 minutes of ice time against the Dallas Stars on Friday and 10 shots on goal in 27 minutes of ice time against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday. Additionally, MacKinnon has only three assists over his last eight games.

Despite this drought, Nathan MacKinnon is still one of the leading point scorers this NHL season, tied for 2nd with 35 points. With this pace, MacKinnon is still projected to score close to 118 points per ESPN.

The Avalanche have a record of 13-12-0, and they are placed 4th in the Central Division with 26 points. They have won only two out of their last five games but have four wins in the last seven games.

Nathan MacKinnon and Avs had no answers for Oiler's offense

The Colorado Avalanche lost to the Oilers at Ball Arena on Saturday. Nikolai Kovalenko gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal in the first period. Kasperi Kapanen tied the game for Edmonton with a goal assisted by Connor McDavid.

In the second period, Vasily Podkolzin put the Oilers ahead 2-1, deflecting a shot from Troy Stecher. Brett Kulak made it 3-1 with a goal early in the third period. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored into an empty net to seal the win at 18:28.

Alexandar Georgiev made 28 saves for the Avalanche, while Stuart Skinner stopped 27 shots for Edmonton. The Avalanche need Nathan MacKinnon and other players to step up offensively to avoid their inconsistency.