Monthly Archives: January 2026

Hockey News, prohockeytalk

MacKinnon scores 400th goal and Nichushkin nets hat trick as Avalanche rout Blues 6-1

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DENVER — Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, including his 400th career goal, and Valeri Nichushkin netted his second NHL hat trick as the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 6-1 on Wednesday night for their ninth straight win.

MacKinnon became the third player in franchise history to reach 400 goals and first to score them all for the Avalanche. Joe Sakic had 625 goals, the first 233 coming with the Quebec Nordiques before the team moved to Colorado. Michel Goulet is second in club history with 456, all for Quebec.

MacKinnon, who added two assists, leads the NHL with 34 goals. His 70 points were tied with Edmonton star Connor McDavid for most in the league.

Nichushkin scored twice during a four-goal barrage in the first 4:39 of the game and finished with three goals. Brock Nelson scored later on a power play for Colorado, and Mackenzie Blackwood turned away 12 shots.

Colorado has won 15 straight at home, where it is 17-0-2, and has just two regulation losses (30-2-7) this season. The Avalanche’s 69 points tied the 1929-30 Boston Bruins for the most through 39 games.

Jordan Binnington allowed four goals on the first eight shots he faced and finished with 37 saves. Dalibor Dvorsky scored for St. Louis, which has dropped two straight. The Blues’ 13 shots on goal were a season low.

Nichushkin made it 1-0 a minute in, and MacKinnon scored his first of the game at 3:13. Nichushkin got his second of the night 13 seconds later, and MacKinnon’s slap shot 1:13 after that capped the early scoring.

It was the fastest four goals to start a game in franchise history and third in NHL history.

Nelson, who got his 300th career assist on Nichushkin’s first goal, scored midway through the game. Nichushkin scored 1:34 after Dvorsky spoiled Blackwood’s shutout bid with his sixth of the season.

Up next

Blues: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night.

Avalanche: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.

Hockey News, prohockeytalk

MacKinnon scores 400th goal and Nichushkin nets hat trick as Avalanche rout Blues 6-1

Leave a comment

DENVER — Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, including his 400th career goal, and Valeri Nichushkin netted his second NHL hat trick as the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 6-1 on Wednesday night for their ninth straight win.

MacKinnon became the third player in franchise history to reach 400 goals and first to score them all for the Avalanche. Joe Sakic had 625 goals, the first 233 coming with the Quebec Nordiques before the team moved to Colorado. Michel Goulet is second in club history with 456, all for Quebec.

MacKinnon, who added two assists, leads the NHL with 34 goals. His 70 points were tied with Edmonton star Connor McDavid for most in the league.

Nichushkin scored twice during a four-goal barrage in the first 4:39 of the game and finished with three goals. Brock Nelson scored later on a power play for Colorado, and Mackenzie Blackwood turned away 12 shots.

Colorado has won 15 straight at home, where it is 17-0-2, and has just two regulation losses (30-2-7) this season. The Avalanche’s 69 points tied the 1929-30 Boston Bruins for the most through 39 games.

Jordan Binnington allowed four goals on the first eight shots he faced and finished with 37 saves. Dalibor Dvorsky scored for St. Louis, which has dropped two straight. The Blues’ 13 shots on goal were a season low.

Nichushkin made it 1-0 a minute in, and MacKinnon scored his first of the game at 3:13. Nichushkin got his second of the night 13 seconds later, and MacKinnon’s slap shot 1:13 after that capped the early scoring.

It was the fastest four goals to start a game in franchise history and third in NHL history.

Nelson, who got his 300th career assist on Nichushkin’s first goal, scored midway through the game. Nichushkin scored 1:34 after Dvorsky spoiled Blackwood’s shutout bid with his sixth of the season.

Up next

Blues: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night.

Avalanche: At the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.

Hockey News

The Canadiens’ New Year’s Resolution

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As the calendar turns to 2026, it’s the time of the year when we all take stock and decide to better ourselves by making resolutions. Granted, more often than not, those are out the window before January is even over, but if the Montreal Canadiens decided to make some resolutions, I believe these should be the ones.

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I know that should go without saying, but for some reason, the Canadiens are struggling to do that. Their goal differential in the second period currently stands at minus-13, and all too often, a great effort in the first frame is wasted because of a second-period collapse.

Thankfully, it wasn’t the case in the Habs’ last game against the Florida Panthers, but it happens so often that it’s almost a surprise when it doesn’t. Their minus-13 differential is the second worst in the league, quite a way away from the St. Louis Blues' minus-21, but still, it makes no sense for a team that’s plus-six in the first, plus-four in the third, plus-four in overtime, and plus-one overall to be minus-13 in the second frame.

The Canadiens have grown up a lot over the last few years, and the time for the mid-day nap is long gone. It’s time to be fully awake all game long and to compete like a team that’s after the Stanley Cup.

Shoot More

The year’s edition of the Canadiens is oozing with talent, and while that’s definitely a blessing, there are times when it can look like a curse. The Habs often seem to be looking for the perfect play rather than for the goal.

Someone like Demidov, who’s a pass-first kind of guy, needs to recognize a golden opportunity when it presents itself, and, in all fairness, he has been better at it of late, but collectively, there needs to be a conscious effort to do so.

The power play currently has a 25% success rate and is in fifth place in the league, but if the Habs were just a little more trigger-happy, it could be even higher.

Work On Breakaways

The number of times the Canadiens fail to score on the breakaway is staggering, so much so that when a player takes off on his own, there’s no sense of excitement anymore; some fans barely dare to look.

Josh Anderson has a lot of speed, and he has a knack for finding a way to evade coverage and show up all alone in front of the goaltender, but it’s the finishing that’s missing, and that’s the most crucial part.

It may be hard to recreate in-game situations in practice. Still, it’s worth a try. Giving the shooter a head start and launching a couple of defensemen in pursuit shortly after would serve two purposes: improving both sides of the breakaway plays.

I hope you’ve had a great 2025 and wish you all the best in the year ahead. Thank you for reading along this year, and I look forward to reporting on more Canadiens’ happenings in 2026.

Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.  

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