With a goal and two assists for the Colorado Avalanche in their 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild tonight, Nathan MacKinnon hit 130 points on the season. He became the second player to do so after Nikita Kucherov did the same last night in the Tampa Bay Lightning win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not to be outdone, Mikko Rantanen scored his 40th of the campaign, making history with MacKinnon as the only players in Avalanche history to have two straight 40-goal, 100-point seasons.
Want to know the last time two players in the NHL scored 130 points or more in the same season? It was 1995-96, when none other than Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr scored 161 and 149, respectively, for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Now, Kucherov and MacKinnon may not reach those levels, but there is a chance at more history when you consider that Connor McDavid sits at 126 points on the season and is bound to also eclipse the mark. When he does, it will be the first time since 1992-93 that three players scored that many points in the same season. In fact, six skaters scored 132 or more back then. The combination of power, speed, and skill of guys like MacKinnon, Kucherov, and McDavid continues to raise the entertainment value of today’s NHL.
