The Latest Breaking News from Nathan MacKinnon

The Avalanche penalty kill deserved a lucky break, and it got one.

PITTSBURGH — In their first game in 10 days, the Penguins were absolutely dominated by Nathan MacKinnon and the defending Stanley Cup champs at PPG Paints Arena.

DENVER — Point to any number of shortcomings as a primary reason for the Avalanche’s dramatic malfunction toward the halfway point of the 2022-23 season: injuries, lack of organizational depth, a short offseason catching up in the form of fatigue.

For a second consecutive game, a late Colorado Avalanche game-tying goal was reviewed and overturned. This time, there was no swift make-up goal to make the pain go away.

DENVER — The Avalanche have plenty to look forward to in 2023, but before 2022 was history, history repeated itself.

PHILADELPHIA — No captain Gabriel Landeskog, no winger Valeri Nichushkin, no winger Artturi Lehkonen for the reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, due to injury. That was (almost) no problem for the Flyers, who have been decimated by injuries of their own for the last two seasons.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Commit one penalty against the Avalanche, and hold your breath. Commit two in succession, and start digging yourself a grave.

DENVER — Across the first six weeks of the Stars season, heading into Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Avalanche, it was tough to argue the Stars didn’t get what they deserved.

WASHINGTON — Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Darcy Kuemper know better than anyone else living in the nation’s capital what Nathan MacKinnon can do with a puck. They were witnesses to his brilliance for one season, the longest season of his career at that. The season he went coast-to-coast for a playoff…