- Nathan MacKinnon dropped the gloves with Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke in the Avalanche opener
- It was MacKinnon’s first fight in 642 days, dating to a December 2024 bout with Barrett Hayton
- Read below to watch the MacKinnon fight video and see how the Avs finished off Los Angeles
Nathan MacKinnon doesn’t fight often. When he does, he makes it count.
The Avalanche star dropped the gloves with Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke in the third period of Wednesday’s season opener at Ball Arena. Colorado led 6-4 with 6:40 left when the two squared up near center ice, and MacKinnon kept throwing until both of them went down in a pile with the linesmen.
Watch the MacKinnon fight video:
Both players got five-minute majors for fighting. The TNT broadcast cut straight to Avs fans losing their minds in the stands.
It’s been a while since MacKinnon did this. MacKinnon’s last fight came on Dec. 27, 2024, when he tangled with Barrett Hayton of what was then the Utah Hockey Club. That’s 642 days between scraps, and the Hayton bout had been his first in almost three years.
He didn’t need the fight to have a good night, either. MacKinnon scored 23 seconds into the second period on the power play, then added his second at 8:33 of the frame off feeds from Martin Necas and Brent Burns.
Check out his second goal of the night:
Colorado scored twice more after the fight. Gabriel Landeskog, who said in camp he feels the best he has since the 2020 bubble, made it 7-4 just 43 seconds later. Artturi Lehkonen then buried his second of the game on the power play at 15:06.
Here’s the Landeskog goal:
Los Angeles got goals from Brian Dumoulin, Artemi Panarin, and shorthanded tallies from Joel Armia and Trevor Moore. It wasn’t close to enough in an 8-4 loss.
Jared Bednar couldn’t have asked for a better start a day after signing his contract extension. Two goals and a fight from MacKinnon in Game 1 is about as loud an opening statement as Colorado could make.
