Nathan Mackinnon's Explosive Bench Meltdown Sparks Game Misconduct
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Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon's frustrations went over his head late in Saturday's defeat to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Colorado Avalanche's home opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night promised to be an emotional rollercoaster for supporters. Nathan MacKinnon, the reigning Hart Trophy winner, got the crowd excited right away, especially after Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic gave him his trophy. But by night's end, he was singing a different song.
Seeing the two Denver MVPs together-Jokic in 2023 for the Nuggets and MacKinnon in 2022-bring titles to the city was an awesome sight. Nathan's goal sent Ball Arena into a frenzy and created an electric atmosphere.
In the end, the Blue Jackets pulled a spoiler and ruined Mack's big night, which made the evening's star explode. Columbus won 6-4, with Sean Monahan and Kirill Marchenko each scoring a goal and dishing out two assists. By the end of the game, MacKinnon became agitated with the referees and even broke his stick. The bittersweet evening came to an end when he received a 10-minute misconduct penalty.
After Alexander Georgiev was pulled for the second straight night after giving up 11 goals in two games, Miles Wood and Casey Mittelstadt helped the Avs rally, tying the score at 3-3 early in the second.
When questioned about taking goaltender Alexandar Georgiev out of the game on Saturday night for the second straight, Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar defended Georgiev.
"I get that there's a level of frustration, but (Georgiev), he's our guy, he's our starter, right? And I have full faith that he has the ability, the talent, (and) the work ethic to bounce back and win us hockey games. It's a mental game (for him) right now, right? So we'll regroup and then we have other areas ... that we have to get better at," Bednar said.
On Monday night, the Avalanche will play the second game of a four-game homestand against the New York Islanders.
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