Denver, CO
Avs crush Capitals behind Nathan MacKinnon’s natural hat trick, four total goals and more history
On Wednesday night, Nathan MacKinnon presented more evidence that he’s the NHL’s most talented player, and made Avs history in the process.
MacKinnon’s natural hat trick, coupled with Cale Makar becoming the Avs’ highest-scoring defenseman all-time, propelled them past the tired and lackluster Capitals 6-2 and gave streaking Colorado its 10th win in the last 13 games.
“He’s the best player in the world,” Makar said. “I don’t think it’s really a question at the moment.”
No. 29’s feat was the franchise’s second natural hat trick — three consecutive goals by the same player — and first by an Avalanche player since Joe Sakic pulled it off on March 13, 2003, at Columbus.
Oh, and MacKinnon tacked on a garbage-time lamp-lighter in the final period, tying his Avs single-game record from earlier this season with a fourth goal. He joined Alex Ovechkin as the only players in the last quarter-century to have multiple four-goal games in a season, and MacKinnon’s final goal on Wednesday prompted a thong and a bra to be thrown onto the ice.
“Inappropriate,” MacKinnon quipped.
Amid another big night for him at Ball Arena, MacKinnon also passed Sakic’s franchise record for home point streak to start a season. MacKinnon is now at 24 games, besting Super Joe’s run of 23 games in 2000-01. The NHL record is held by Wayne Gretzky, who tallied points in 40 straight home games for the Kings to begin the 1988-89 season en route to winning the Hart Memorial Trophy.
In all, it was another game where MacKinnon made his NHL foes look like AHL skaters. As usual, MacKinnon was ho-hum about his golden performance.
How does he feel about joining, and passing, Sakic in rare franchise air?
“Not much, honestly,” MacKinnon said. “Joe’s a legend, and pucks are going in for me right now.”
After a five-point night to get to 82 points on the season, how does he feel about leapfrogging Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (80 points) atop the NHL leaderboard?
“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s 48 games in and I’ve got the most points. There’s nothing rewarded for that.”
And what about another historic four-goal game? The MVP chants from the home crowd whose adoration for him is only equalled by the arena’s hardcourt star, Nikola Jokic?
“I told (our equipment guy) to throw (my scoring pucks) in the crowd,” he said. “I’m not going to keep them, so hopefully people like them. … I’ve heard (MVP chants) before and I’ve never won MVP, so, it doesn’t mean much. The fans are obviously very supportive, but I’m not getting my hopes up.”
Well, if MacKinnon won’t be boastful, his teammates will do it for him.
“He’s up there (on the Avs’ Mount Rushmore) with Joe for sure, and with (Peter) Forsberg,” said Mikko Rantanen, who also had five points on Wednesday. “With the Stanley Cup we won, that helps his case to already be in that conversation.”
Aside from MacKinnon’s brilliance, Colorado got a significant milestone from its star defenseman, too.
In the final seconds of the first period, Makar jump-started the Avs when he got the puck near center ice off a pass from Andrew Cogliano, blew past a pair of Capitals, and streaked down the center of the ice before burying a wrister in the top left shelf to give Colorado a 1-0 lead.
“It was a sleepy first period by the whole team, but the goal by Cale opened it up for us,” Rantanen said.
The shorthanded score came with 37 seconds left in the period and made more history for Makar, who on Saturday in Philadelphia became the second-fastest defenseman to reach 300 career points, one game short of tying Bobby Orr’s record. Makar’s goal on Wednesday gave him the most goals by a defenseman in franchise history at 76, passing Tyson Barrie.
“I’m very honored (by the mark),” Makar said. “It’s not really a goal I was too focused on, but you don’t get there unless I got guys like (MacKinnon and Rantanen) around me.”
It also marked Makar’s first regular-season shorthanded goal, and his four shorthanded points this year are the most by a Colorado defenseman since Craig Wolanin in 1995-96. The franchise record for a defender is five by the Nordiques’ Alexei Gusarov in 1992-93.
The Avs took further control less than three minutes into the second period, taking advantage of a power play and more poor defense by the Capitals. Rantanen’s cross-ice pass from the right faceoff circle over to the left one found MacKinnon, who had a clean look at the net and the all-star easily beat Washington goal Charlie Lindgren with a slap shot.
MacKinnon was just getting started.
A little over four minutes later, Colorado cashed in on another Washington penalty. Rantanen and Makar dumped the puck back and forth to each other before Makar zipped a clean pass to MacKinnon, who was set up at about the exact same spot as his first goal. The result was the same, a slap shot that beat Lindgren on the left side, and the Avs were in complete command at 3-0.
“That was a pretty similar goal (to the first one),” Rantanen said. “When you get those goals, and the confidence is high… it just snowballs from there. We were moving the puck around and finding the open guy, and tonight it was Nate.”
But MacKinnon, amid his phenomenal season, wasn’t done as he tied the franchise record for goals in a period.
In a two-on-one break, Rantanen assisted MacKinnon, who slowed down right in front of the net and put home a backhanded goal to the top left shelf as Lindgren sprawled in vain on the ice. A flurry of hats rained onto the ice to commemorate MacKinnon’s eighth career hat trick, and second this season after tallying a Colorado-record four goals in the Avs’ win over Ottawa on Dec. 21.
“(Rantanen) was playmaking so well tonight, and looking for me,” MacKinnon said. “On my third goal, that was a really nice pass on the two-on-one. It was really selfless hockey from Mikko.”
The Capitals finally got on the board almost halfway through the third period, when Dylan Strome scored off a loose puck in the front of the net, beating Alexandar Georgiev to negate the shutout.
But Rantanen responded for Colorado a few minutes later by knocking in a deflection in the front of the net, and then MacKinnon’s wrist shot through traffic in four-on-four action capped his seventh career five-point game. Washington scored a four-on-four goal a few minutes later, but it made no difference to the raucous home crowd.
And to his head coach, MacKinnon’s other-worldly effort left Jared Bednar at a loss for words again, while he simultaneously appreciated the forward’s lack of excitement for his individual achievements.
“He couldn’t surprise me at this point,” Bednar said. “That’s just where he’s at. He’s that good. Look at what he does at a nightly basis. What (more) am I going to say?
“And deep down, all the true competitors have (his mentality). It’s not about what he’s done tonight or what he did two years ago or last year, or this year to this point. It’s about trying to win again. His focus is on the end game (of another Stanley Cup).”
Denver, CO
Bo Nix’s footwork is “a lot better” as he plays under center more. Coincidence?
On the first of Bo Nix’s four touchdown passes against Green Bay, he did what he does more frequently than any quarterback in football.
Nix escaped from the pocket and took off running. He moved up and to the left before hitting Michael Bandy for a 20-yard catch-and-scamper.
The next three touchdowns, though, are where the Broncos offense can dream about a deep postseason run or even more.
Nix, operating from the gun, delivered strikes of all shapes and sizes and did so with clean footwork in the pocket.
He identified coverage, took a short, one-step drop and fired a perfectly placed low ball to Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Then a three-step drop to get the ball up and down with beautiful pace and timing to Courtland Sutton one-on-one up the right sideline.
Nix polished off the fourth touchdown when he five-step dropped, hitched up in the pocket twice and uncorked a rocket up the seam for Troy Franklin on a motion and route concept the Broncos have made hay on most of the year.
The Packers game represented a breakout as Nix completed 23 of 34 passes for 302 yards and the four touchdowns, but his game’s been heating up more broadly over the past month.
He had an efficient day in a much different style against Las Vegas, completing 31 of 38 passes and engineering three battering-ram touchdown drives. He threw for 616 yards in the two weeks before that in wins over Washington and Kansas City.
In those four games, Nix has completed 69.5% of his passes for 282.5 yards per game and thrown five touchdowns and an interception. Before that stretch, he completed 60.9% and averaged 212 yards per game.
What’s changed? Start from the ground up.
“I think his footwork has got a lot better,” offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said Thursday. “And the way he handles himself in the pocket, trusting the protection. We’ve talked about it all year and the last four games he’s done a really good job of that.
“He’s moving when he needs to and he’s hanging in there when he needs to.”
Head coach Sean Payton earlier this season said the quarterbacks get some specific footwork drilling done during a normal game week but not a ton. They’ll work a particular concept or drop between periods, but for the most part, the work is plan-specific.
Nix, though, has been working on his own pocket presence in his own ways in recent weeks.
“I think he’s probably one of the best … at learning from mistakes, and looking in the mirror and seeing what his weaknesses are,” tight end Evan Engram told The Post.
“He’s sitting in there, he’s trusting the protection, he’s letting it rip. And that’s something that he saw. And he worked on. And like – I can’t say how hard that is. I’ve never done it in my life. You’ve got freakin’ monsters rushing you, every play. And credit to the O-line, too.
The staff also appears to be doing a better job of helping get Nix into good rhythm. Part of that is by playing more frequently from under center. The touchdowns outlined above came out of shotgun, but one commonly held belief is that playing from under center helps keep footwork clean because a quarterback is forced to do it coming back from the center.
Since the Broncos returned from their bye week, the uptick has been notable.
Denver averaged 29.4% of offensive snaps under center the first 11 games. Over the past three, the number is 42.8%.
Nix has attempted nearly half as many passes from under center the past three games (25) as he did in the first 11 (51). That’s partly because he’s playing more from under center, though Denver’s under center pass rate has also jumped up from 24.5% over the first 11 games to 29.3% the past three weeks.
Nix only completed 1 of 6 passes against Green Bay for 16 yards from under center but the week before, he was 10 of 10 for 71 yards against Las Vegas.
“Each game is different relative to when we look at gun runs, under center runs, try to self-scout ourselves enough to where there’s enough play-action maybe under center, drop back,” Payton said between Vegas and Green Bay, adding that he thought Nix made a quick transition to playing under center even though he hardly did it in college.
“I think that hasn’t been a big learning curve. I think it’s gone pretty smooth.”
Particularly since the bye week, the Broncos have leaned more and more into it. Payton and Lombardi say the usage is dependent on individual game plans.
The longer this uptick continues, though, the more it looks like a philosophical shift.
Broncos reporter Luca Evans contributed to this story.
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Denver, CO
Nikola Jokic passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most assists by center in NBA history as Nuggets beat Magic
For his latest trick, Nikola Jokic dribbled into oncoming traffic and escaped unscathed.
Sometimes after he reels in a defensive rebound, the Nuggets center prefers to launch an aerial attack with one of his long outlet passes. This time, he brought the ball with him up on his usual route up the middle of the floor. Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. trailed him by a step. Up ahead, Tyus Jones veered into his lane from the left, sensing an opportunity to pick the pocket of a lumbering big man.
But Jokic is nimble. Before Jones could cut across his front side, he anticipated the attempted swipe and transferred his dribbling hand with a behind-the-back move that shouldn’t have looked so graceful. Jones whiffed. Carter caught up, but Jokic decelerated to allow him to pass. Then the newly minted best passing center of all time went behind the back again — this time, a dime to Jamal Murray, who finished the play with a lefty floater.
Denver’s stars were just showing off at that point in the third quarter of a 126-115 win over the Magic that wasn’t always so smooth-sailing.
It was a monumental night. At 30 years old and 302 days, Jokic passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Thursday for the most assists by a center in NBA history. Coming into the game, all he needed was six to match Abdul-Jabbar’s career total of 5,660. He finished the evening with 13, highlighting a 23-point, 11-rebound triple-double.
“For those of us that love the history of the game, that one should be wrote about and talked about, and that should be a national story,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “Because that’s passing a guy that you could argue — if you just want to go by generations and not, ‘Who’s the best player of all time?’ and all the talk-talk stuff — Kareem is in the conversation. Look at his MVPs. Look at the winning. And our guy tonight from Denver just passed him in a category.”
“This is a time that I can be able to look back and appreciate all the years I’ve had to play this game with him,” Murray said. “It’s special. Passing Kareem in anything is pretty cool. So I think it just speaks to his greatness and how unselfish he is.”
Jokic has also passed other Hall of Famers including Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson on the all-time list this season, now ranking 50th overall in career assists. Next up for him to catch is another legendary passer, Larry Bird. Jokic is 28 away from tying him.
“I always say the assist makes two people happy (instead of one). My coach ‘Deki,’ he always said that,” Jokic said Thursday, paying homage to the late Golden State Warriors and Mega Basket coach Dejan Milojevic.
“Maybe it’s not a splashy pass or whatever,” the three-time MVP continued, “but I think when you make the right play, you’re going to feel good about yourself.”
Adelman was especially adamant about the historical significance of the occasion. He gave Jokic the game ball in Denver’s locker room after the win.
“It’s such a cool thing, because it’s Kareem, who was passed by LeBron (James) as the all-time leading scorer, which puts in perspective who Nikola passed,” Adelman said. “So it’s a celebration of both people. It’s somebody that completely changed the game. The sky hook. The longevity. … I feel like in the modern era, we talk about Tom Brady and all these people. But go look at Kareem. The guy changed his name while he played. The guy plays 20-plus years and, until the very end, was impactful on teams that went to the Finals. So for Nikola to pass him, I think, says a lot. And if we’re going to celebrate what LeBron did, (we should celebrate this also). And I know it’s a different kind of thing because it’s a center, it’s a position. I’ll just keep saying it. Just don’t get tired of this, because it’s unique.”
Jokic is also closing in on Oscar Robertson for second all-time in triple-doubles. Thursday was his 177th, bringing him within four of the iconic guard. He became the first center in league history to average a triple-double last season, and he’s on pace to do so again this year with 29.8 points, 12.4 rebounds and 10.8 assists per game.
Orlando called a timeout after Jokic and Murray combined for that saucy transition bucket in the third quarter. As they sauntered to the huddle, Nuggets assistant coaches Ognjen Stojakovic and JJ Barea could only laugh at the duo’s skill and panache.

“That’s how kind of we made our staple in that second unit growing up, was just the give-and-go,” Murray said of Jokic’s passing. “… A lot of give-and-go, and you could see his court vision and his fluidity.”
The Nuggets did most of their work Thursday during an astonishing second quarter. They flipped a 47-33 deficit with a 35-7 run that only took the last 6:26 of the first half. Murray scored 20 of his 32 points in the frame. Reserve point guard Jalen Pickett ignited the comeback and was a plus-26 in eight minutes of playing time that quarter.
Both teams were short-handed at Ball Arena. Orlando was fending without Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. Denver was down three of its best defenders with Peyton Watson (right trunk contusion) ruled out shortly before tip, joining Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon on the shelf.
In Watson’s place, Bruce Brown started his first game as a Denver Nugget since April 9, 2023. David Adelman used 10 of his 11 available players, including Julian Strawther, who was cleared to play earlier this week after missing a month with a back injury.
Orlando mounted mini-comebacks throughout the second half, eventually narrowing a 21-point gap to 121-115 with 90 seconds to go.
Moments earlier during a Nuggets timeout, Ball Arena had displayed a graphic commemorating Jokic’s all-time assists achievement. The crowd greeted him with a round of applause as he returned to the court. Then he treated Denver to one more beauty of an assist, passing out of a double-team with a missile across the court to Cam Johnson in the backside corner. His open 3-pointer sealed the win.
“It’s a celebration of our guy, of a Denver Nugget, and it’s a celebration of NBA history, all in the same place,” Adelman said. “And we all got to be there to see it.”
Denver, CO
Things To Do In And Around Denver This Weekend – 12/17-12/21 – 303 Magazine
Where: Fight Club – 1959 16th St Mall Denver
Cost: Price varies
The Lowdown:
Guests have the option of $39 bottomless flatbreads, which includes the price of their oche reservation for Social Darts®. The bottomless flatbread menu features Smoked Salmon Flatbread, Four Cheese Flatbread, Breakfast Flatbread, or Garden Vegetable Flatbread. Guests can also order off the á la carte menu, which includes a fresh-cut fruit plate, breakfast sliders,, avocado toast, and Flight Club’s famous churros.
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