Nathan MacKinnon, playoff-bound Avalanche set sights on Caps

Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche will look to continue their stellar season on Sunday afternoon when they take on Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals in Washington, D.C.

MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (45) and rating (plus-57) entering play on Saturday. He collected two goals and an assist to lead Colorado to a 5-2 victory over the Capitals on Jan. 19 in Denver.

The Avalanche (45-13-10, 100 points) became the first team to secure a playoff spot, thanks to a 4-1 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. Colorado previously had lost four of five games (1-3-1), including a brutal 7-2 home setback to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday.

"Obviously, there are ebbs and flows to the season, but to this point of the season we've put ourselves in a good spot here," Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said. "We feel good about the way we're playing. Making the playoffs is the first step to where you want to go, and we're pretty happy about that, (getting) 100 points and still a lot of season left to play."

On Friday night, Martin Necas opened up scoring in the first period and added two assists later in the game. MacKinnon set up three goals and Mackenzie Blackwood made 19 saves.

Necas' three-point game boosted his point total to a career-high 84 (32 goals, 52 assists), eclipsing the 83-point campaign he had in 2024-25 split between Colorado and the Carolina Hurricanes.

"Yeah, it feels good," Necas said. "Let's keep it rolling. I think if you just play like that, there aren't many games we're going to lose. Just a strong overall game. Both goalies (Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood) played the last couple of games great, and just keep it rolling."

Colorado has made the playoffs in nine consecutive seasons, hitting 100 points in each of the last five campaigns.

"Obviously, you work all year for this," star defenseman Cale Makar said. "Now it's a positioning game, and we want to feel good going into the playoffs, so we have to just keep winning down the stretch here."

Meanwhile, the Capitals (35-27-8, 78 points) are mired in an uphill battle as they chase a wild-card berth. They are making progress, though, by going 4-1-1 in their past six games.

"I think we know the importance of every game coming in," defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk said. "It's going to take a lot, so every game means a lot."

That includes Friday's game, as the Capitals held on for a 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils.

Ryan Leonard and Aliaksei Protas each scored a goal for the Capitals, and Logan Thompson made 30 saves, including 17 saves in the third period.

"I thought that first period was one of our better periods that we've played probably in the last 20 games," Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said. "I thought we did a lot of really, really good things."