Nathan MacKinnon has a massive meltdown on the bench: leads to game misconduct
Colorado Avalanche fans were in for an emotional rollercoaster during Saturday night home opening tilt against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Reigning Hart Trophy winner , Nathan MacKinnon had the crowd buzzing early, especially after being presented with his Hart Trophy by Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic. Yet by the end of the night, he was singing a different tune.
It was a cool moment seeing two Denver MVPs together, both bringing championships to the city, with Jokic in 2023 and MacKinnon in 2022. The atmosphere in Ball Arena was electric after Nathan scored, sending everyone into a frenzy.
The Blue Jackets ultimately played spoiler and ruined Mack's big night, resulting in a blowup from the man of the evening. Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko scored a goal and had two assists each, as Columbus ended up taking the game 6-4, with MacKinnon getting heated at the refs by the end, even breaking his stick. He was given a 10-minute misconduct, and that sealed the bittersweet night.
Miles Wood and Casey Mittelstadt helped the Avs fight back, evening things at 3-3 early in the second after Alexander Georgiev was was pulled for the second straight night having yielded 11 goals in two games.
But after that, Marchenko and Chinakhov came through for Columbus again, putting them ahead for good.
Ross Colton gave Colorado some hope late in the third with a goal to make it 5-4, but Monahan's empty-netter with just 12 seconds left was the final dagger before Nate let his emotions run wild.
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