Avalanche vs. Kings: Nathan MacKinnon Scores Twice and Drops the Gloves in Colorado's 8-4 Opening Win

Nathan MacKinnon needed 23 seconds of the second period to cash in a two-man advantage, struck again a little more than eight minutes later, and then, with the game mostly in hand in the third, did something he rarely does: he dropped the gloves. It was that kind of night at Ball Arena. Everything was a little louder, a little sloppier and a lot more fun than a season opener has any right to be.

The Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings 8-4 on Wednesday night, with MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen each scoring twice, Brock Nelson adding a goal and two assists, and the power play going 4-for-5. NHL.com noted it was the first time in franchise history the Avalanche scored eight goals in a season opener. The Kings, meanwhile, scored twice short-handed and still lost by four, which is a sentence that should not exist.

A Contract, Then a Track Meet

The night started with good news for Colorado's bench boss. Hours before puck drop, the AP reported, Jared Bednar received a four-year contract extension. Vegas swept Colorado in last spring's Western Conference final, which had fueled questions about the coach's future, and the new deal put those to rest. "I didn't want him to go through the whole year and have those distractions of being asked that same question, especially as the year goes on," general manager Joe Sakic said.

The players took it from there. Nelson opened the scoring on the power play at 6:33 of the first. Jaden Schwartz tried a cross-crease saucer pass, Lehkonen could not get a clean swing at it, and the puck dropped to Nelson, whose shot hit the post and went in off Darcy Kuemper.

Los Angeles answered at 15:14 when Brian Dumoulin fired from the top of the left circle through an Alex Turcotte screen. But Parker Kelly put Colorado back in front at 17:58, finishing a 2-on-1 three seconds after a Kings power play ended. Then Adrian Kempe and Drew Doughty took penalties 40 seconds apart late in the first, setting up a two-man advantage to open the second.

The Turning Point: A Wild Second Period

MacKinnon cashed the 5-on-3 at 0:23 of the second, one-timing Nazem Kadri's cross-slot feed from the left circle for a 3-1 lead. On the remaining 5-on-4, Joel Armia stole the momentum right back with a short-handed goal at 1:28.

That set the tone for a period with six goals in it. MacKinnon restored the two-goal cushion at 8:33, roofing a pass from Martin Necas over Kuemper's glove. Nicolas Roy made it 5-2 at 16:01, lifting a loose puck over Kuemper after a pileup in the crease left the goalie down.

Then the Kings did the bizarre thing again. With Joel Edmundson off for slashing MacKinnon, Trevor Moore turned a tipped puck along the right wall into a 2-on-1 with Scott Laughton and scored short-handed at 17:50. Colorado's response came 44 seconds later on the same power play, when Lehkonen one-timed a Nelson centering pass to make it 6-3.

"Weird that we obviously gave up a couple on the power play there, but we found a way to capitalize a couple more on our power play. So trade off, but that can't happen," Cale Makar said.

The Fight and the Finish

Artemi Panarin pulled Los Angeles within 6-4 at 11:51 of the third. He had hopped on as the extra skater during a delayed penalty, and his shot beat Mackenzie Blackwood high on the blocker side. Less than 90 seconds later, at 13:20, MacKinnon and Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke fought. Per the AP, MacKinnon's previous fight came four years ago.

Colorado scored twice in the next two minutes. Captain Gabriel Landeskog made it 7-4 at 14:03 when Makar's wide shot caromed off the end wall and Landeskog's attempt went in off Quinton Byfield's skate. Lehkonen then scored his second power-play goal at 15:06 after Turcotte went off for tripping.

Stars of the Night

Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and five penalty minutes in 17:44. "We got some stuff to clean up, but you score eight, you're probably going to win. So, we'll take it," he said.

Artturi Lehkonen scored twice, both on the power play, and Brock Nelson had a goal and two assists. Cale Makar, Nazem Kadri, Jaden Schwartz and Devon Toews each had two assists, and NHL.com noted Makar became the first defenseman in NHL history with multiple points in five straight season openers. Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves on 31 shots.

For Los Angeles, Alex Laferriere had two assists and Joel Armia, Trevor Moore, Brian Dumoulin and Artemi Panarin scored. Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves on 29 shots.

Stats That Matter

• 4-for-5: Colorado's power play.
• 2: Short-handed goals for the Kings, which NHL.com noted was just the second time in the past 14 years they did that on the road.
• 37-21: Kings on faceoffs, a 63.8 percent clip that did not help much.
• 31-29: Los Angeles' shot advantage.
• 8: Avalanche goals, a franchise first for a season opener, per NHL.com.

What It Means

Colorado starts 1-0-0, but Bednar was more critical than the scoreboard suggested. "The rush coverage? Woof. It was rough," he said. He also called it "All fixable. All fixable." The Avalanche host St. Louis on Saturday.

Los Angeles starts 0-1-0 in its first game under coach Peter Laviolette, who pointed straight at his own team's discipline and execution. "I felt like a lot of the things that we gave them tonight were, they're our responsibility," he said. Defenseman Mikey Anderson saw positives but summed up the problem in a handful of words. "Again, just too many breakdowns," he said. The Kings visit San Jose on Saturday.

Closing Take

This game had the energy of a summer blockbuster where the special effects budget ran out halfway through: plenty of explosions, some questionable continuity, and a star who went off-script in a way nobody expected. MacKinnon's assessment was the right one. You score eight, you win. The film session, as Bednar suggested, will be less entertaining.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details and Joe Sakic's pregame quote from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and team notes as reported by NHL.com.