MacKinnon becomes Avalanche all-time scoring leader 4-1 win vs Kings

The Colorado Avalanche opened the 2025-26 NHL season with a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Martin Necas scored two goals, Sam Malinski and Artturi Lehkonen added others, and Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves as Colorado pulled away in a three-goal second period. Nathan MacKinnon recorded two assists to move past Joe Sakic as the Avalanche's all-time leading scorer.

After a scoreless first period, Colorado broke through 48 seconds into the second when Cale Makar and Devon Toews backed up the defensive zone and MacKinnon set up Necas for a laser from the slot. Malinski converted a turnover into his ninth career goal at the 7:00 mark, and Lehkonen finished on a rebound with 5:18 left in the period to make it 3-0. Necas added a power-play goal early in the third to extend the lead. Kevin Fiala scored on a late two-man advantage with 4:53 remaining to spoil Wedgewood's shutout bid.

MacKinnon's first assist of the night was his 1,016th point in 871 games, surpassing Sakic's 1,015 points recorded with the Avalanche organization. The milestone underscores the continued centrality of MacKinnon, alongside defenseman Cale Makar and...