Nathan MacKinnon's chase for a spot in the NHL's record books has officially ended. In the recent game against the New York Rangers at Ball Arena, which ended in a 3-2 loss via shootout, MacKinnon didn't score a point, halting his 35-game home-point streak.
His streak is the second-longest in NHL history, but he falls short of Wayne Gretzky's record of 40 consecutive home games with a point.
There's some debate about the end of the streak. Colorado requested a review of the scoring for the Avalanche's second goal on Thursday night from the NHL's hockey operations department. However, The Denver Post has learned that the league won't make any changes.
Lindgren's own goal dilemma
MacKinnon passed the puck to Devon Toews. Toews shot at the Rangers' net, but the puck hit Ryan Lindgren’s stick, a Rangers defense player, and went into the goal. Therefore, it was considered an own goal by Lindgren. As a result, Toews is officially credited with his unassisted goal.
The subtle intricacies of the NHL rulebook and its interpretations become pretty apparent when a puck goes in off Lindgren's stick. According to Rule 78.3, an assist is credited to the player or who touched the puck before the goal scorer, provided no defender subsequently plays or gains control.
The NHL team believed that Lindgren tried to push the puck under goalie Igor Shesterkin, which caused the puck to enter the net. They didn't think Rantanen's stick was responsible for the goal—they believed Lindgren scored.
Mikko Rantanen hit Lindgren's stick, resulting in a disputed goal. He was not sure if he had even touched the puck. It seemed like the officials thought Lindgren had the puck, which unfortunately ended Nathan MacKinnon's impressive streak. This outcome was disappointing for Rantanen.
As he reminisces the event, Rantanen recalls that his stick had made contact with Lindgren's on a backhand swing, which then proceeded to redirect into the goal. While he acknowledges that the goal couldn't be attributed to him, he pondered whether the series of events should have counted as an assist.
NHL rule 78.4
The NHL's Rule 78.4 is important in pro hockey. Recently, it's caused quite a stir with a well-known player. Knowing this rule helps you understand the credit system for goals and assists. These details, small as they may seem, can largely affect a game and spark debate.
First, in NHL rules, a player scores if they are the last one from the attacking side to touch the puck before a defender accidentally shoots it into their own net. Importantly, in such cases, no assist points are given.
Second, the rule states that if a defensive player accidentally scores a goal against their own team, the attacking player who last touched the puck gets credit for the goal. However, in this scenario, assists can still be given.
The NHL determined that Lindgren accidentally scored in his own goal, which nullifies part of Rule 78.4. But let's not forget MacKinnon's incredible feat. He didn't just score in 35 consecutive home games but also scored the highest points at home (77) in a single season since Mario Lemieux's 104 and Jaromir Jagr's 83 for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96.
In this unforgettable season, MacKinnon is being compared to hockey greats like Gretzky, Lemieux, and Jagr.
Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev praised Nathan MacKinnon for his impressive achievement. He pointed out the difficulty in maintaining a 10-game point streak, which MacKinnon surpassed threefold. Georgiev believed that MacKinnon placed team success and getting into the playoffs above personal records.
He praised MacKinnon for playing intelligently and strengthening his defense without taking shortcuts, which shows his dedication to hockey. Georgiev ended with high respect for MacKinnon.
