Nathan MacKinnon criticized his own supporters

Avalanche fans must have been impatient on Saturday night. During the game against the Dallas Stars, many of them booed their own team… right in the middle of the powerplay. In the end, despite a strong offensive performance, the Avalanche lost 5-4 in the shootout. The team won five powerplays and found the back of the net just once, on the last one, thanks to Mackinnon himself, yet it wasn’t the goal or the loss that caught the eye after the game, but rather the star player’s words. During the media scrum, MacKinnon sent a clear message to his fans:

“I know we got booed. I guess they don’t really know what a good power play looks like. We had an awful lot of chances, but the puck just wouldn’t go in.”

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Nathan MacKinnon

A direct, straightforward answer, typical of MacKinnon’s temperament. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0jFLxBYr9Y And it’s hard to prove him completely wrong. With players like Cale Makar at quarterback, Martin Necas at the top of the slot and Artturi Lehkonen in front of the net, Colorado’s power play is nothing to worry about. Against Dallas, the execution quickly took hold in the stands

, but Mackinnon doesn’t seem prepared to let the crowd turn its back on his team after just a few missed chances. His statement had the air of a reminder: the Colorado Avalanche are among the NHL’s offensive elite, and a powerplay, no matter how well executed, doesn’t always translate into a goal. In an organization as ambitious as the Avalanche, every night without a win is seen as a failure. When you have players of the calibre of MacKinnon, Makar or Necas, fans expect a constant spectacle. But that level of excellence also comes with enormous pressure, and on Saturday, that pressure seemed to weigh as heavily on the ice as it did in the stands, so what was supposed to be a simple regular-season game turned into a little arm-wrestling between the Canadiens’ star player and his own crowd. And as is often the case, Mackinnon made his stick talk… before making his outspoken point.

’en

– Already one scored for Toffoli.