As the calendar flips to December, the Colorado Avalanche dropped their last two games against the Edmonton Oilers and the Dallas Stars and finished the last week of November 1-3-0. They sit fourth in the Central Division and are 13-12-0 (26 points) 25 games into the 2024-25 season. The Avalanche are 10 points from the division-leading Winnipeg Jets (36). Who stood out as the team prepares to enter the third and final month of 2024? In the second edition of the “Three Stars of the Month” series at The Hockey Writers, let’s take a closer look at the three Avalanche players who deserve recognition.
3 Stars for November
Third Star: Cale Makar
We kick this off with defenseman Cale Makar, who has continued his hot start to the season by scoring the third most points by an Avalanche in November. His role in the offense continues to be a significant factor, and it shows in every game, even when he doesn’t end up on the scoresheet.
In 14 games, he scored four goals and nine assists for 14 points while only taking one penalty. His four goals were spread out offensively; one was even strength, one was short-handed, and the other two were on the power play. The same goes for his nine assists; six were even strength, and the other three were on the power play. Two of his nine were game-winning assists. He averaged just over 25 minutes of ice time a game, the tenth-longest time-on-ice average in November throughout the entire NHL. Adding 13 hits and 23 blocked shots, he continues to show a complete package to his game.
His 13 points in November were the third most scored by a defenseman, with players like Roman Josi, Quinn Hughes, and Zach Werenski putting up more points than him. Makar is coming off a historic October that saw him accomplish many feats. He began the season with an impressive 13-game point streak, which marked the longest season-opening point streak for a defenseman in Avalanche history. It also made him the second defenseman in NHL history to start a season with a point streak longer than ten games, following Bobby Orr, who recorded points in 15 consecutive games at the start of the 1974-75 season. He was tied for third in the NHL in scoring with 24 points and was competing to become the first defenseman since Orr to win the Art Ross Trophy. There is no doubt that Makar will continue his pace heading into December with how he is playing right now.
Second Star: Nathan MacKinnon
November saw Nathan MacKinnon‘s goal-scoring come down a bit, but that didn’t stop him from producing at an elite level. In 14 games, he scored two goals and 16 assists for 18 points. His 16 assists are tied for first in November with players like Aleksander Barkov and Dylan Strome. Both of his goals were even-strength goals. Twelve of his assists were at even strength, four were on the power play, and three were game-winning assists. He led all forwards in time on ice, averaging 23:54 a game, including even strength, which came in at 19:55. MacKinnon also led all players in shots on goal with 58, paired with a 3.5 shooting percentage.
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MacKinnon’s play continues to be potent even when his shots don’t hit the back of the net. A significant factor that played into his lower production in November than in October was the power play for the Avalanche, which wasn’t as dominant as it usually is. In November, the Avalanche had a power play percentage of 20.5%, which ranked 19th in the NHL. Considering that they had a power play percentage of 35.1% in October, it impacted the team’s offense significantly and their record. Even with the struggling power play, MacKinnon continued doing what he does best and tried to convert every opportunity he saw into a scoring chance.
He also reached a significant milestone when he passed Michael Goult for the fourth most games played in franchise history. He finished the month with just two points in his last five games. Look for him to break out of this slump and get back to his scoring ways, as the Avalanche need him to do so with how they are playing right now.
First Star: Mikko Rantanen
Despite a cold opening month to the season that saw his goal-scoring limited, Mikko Rantanen came out guns blazing in November and filled the net like his usual self. In 14 games, he scored 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points. His 11 goals were tied with Sam Reinhart for most goals in November. Of his 11 goals, eight were even strength (led the league), three were on the power play, and four were game-winners. Six of his assists were at even strength, two of them came on the power play, and one of his eight was a game-winning assist. Even with leading November in goals scored, he only finished with 43 shots on goal, for an outstanding shooting percentage of 25.6%.
When October finished, Rantanen only had four goals to end the month, and three of them came in the season opener against the Vegas Golden Knights when he finished with a hat trick. A proven 50-goal scorer in this league, his slow start worried many, especially with all of the injuries the Avalanche had, that if Rantanen couldn’t get his offense going, it was going to revolve around Makar and MacKinnon to carry the team. Thankfully, he showed that he has what it takes to be a Rocket Richard Trophy candidate with this month’s showing of offense. It will be an exciting season to see if he continues this level of production, as he will be an unrestricted free agent this upcoming summer and could look for a massive new contract.
The Avalanche’s first game in December will be against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at Buffalo. They have 13 games scheduled for December; they will not play on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or Boxing Day but on New Year’s Eve against the Winnipeg Jets at home in a significant division matchup.
