Nathan MacKinnon gets goal No. 50, but Avs give up eight to NHL’s worst team

Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon registered his 50th goal of the season on Wednesday night.

Unfortunately it came in a disappointing losing effort from the Avs.

Colorado fell to the worst team in the NHL, the Vancouver Canucks, by a stunning 8-6 final score. The Avs found themselves down 6-2 when head coach Jared Bednar had finally seen enough and pulled starter Mackenzie Blackwood.

The defense didn’t do Blackwood many favors, but he wasn’t sharp. He gave up six goals on 19 shots before having his night cut short. Scott Wedgewood slid in, perhaps complicating the decision of Bednar come playoff time who to trust in net. He said earlier in the day he might play two goalies in the playoffs.

But with Wedgewood in the mix, the Avalanche found a spark. They scored four straight goals to make it 6-6 late in the period. Just when it looked like Colorado might pull it off, the Canucks made it 7-6 only 23 seconds after Sam Malinski had tied the game.

Vancouver’s Brock Boeser  would add an empty-netter for a hat trick, icing the 8-6 victory. 

On a night that should’ve been about the second time in his career Nathan MacKinnon has scored 50 goals, it simply wasn’t. The Avalanche looked bored, an understandable feeling giving their position in the standings, but still concerning. The Canucks are a bad hockey team — there’s no other way to slice it.

Questions will loom about Blackwood, as well as when defenseman Cale Maker might be able to return from an upper-body injury. He was sorely missed, but is likely to sit out at least a couple more games.

Next up is a showdown with the Dallas Stars on Saturday. Win that and this Avalanche loss will be all but forgotten with the Central Division title and Western Conference’s No. 1 seed firmly in their grasp.

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