This has been a strange start to 2018 for the Colorado Avalanche. For the first time since Joe Sakic did it back in the 2003-2004 season, an Avalanche player was among the top five in the NHL in scoring to start the new year.
That player is 22-year-old Nathan MacKinnon. No one in hockey has been hotter than MacKinnon. Since November 1, he's the league's leading scorer and he admits he does pay attention to those statistics.
"I see it for sure," MacKinnon said. "I'm focused on my process. The points will be there if I trust my game, but I'm not too worried about it honestly. I'm not going to stress for it or hope for it. I'll just play my game."
Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog knows that he is seeing something special MacKinnon this season. "When he's playing the way he's playing, you just try to keep an eye on him and obviously every time you get the puck keep your head up and find him."
A win Thursday over Columbus would be the fourth in a row for Colorado, which would be the team's longest winning streak in nearly two years.
