Nathan MacKinnon's point streak is over, but not without controversy: 'Maybe there should be an assist'

DENVER — Nathan MacKinnon’s pursuit of NHL history is over — officially now.

MacKinnon did not register a point Thursday night in a 3-2 shootout loss to the New York Rangers at Ball Arena. It snapped a 35-game streak with at least one point in every home game this season. It is the second-longest home point streak in NHL history, with Wayne Gretzky’s standard of 40 straight no longer in danger.

The end of the streak has come with some controversy. Colorado asked the NHL’s hockey operations department to review the official scoring on the Avalanche’s second goal Thursday night, but the league said there will be no changes, The Denver Post has learned.

MacKinnon sent a pass to Devon Toews during the third period, and Toews’ shot went into the Rangers’ net. That’s normally a cut-and-dry assist, but the puck went in off Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren’s stick. It was ruled an own goal by Lindgren, so officially it is an unassisted goal for Toews.

Because the puck went in off Lindgren’s stick, this is where the gray area of the NHL rulebook and interpretations of it come into play. Rule 78.3 states, “When a player scores a goal, an ‘assist’ shall be credited to the player or players (maximum two) who touch the puck prior to the goal scorer provided no defender plays or has control of the puck subsequently.”

The NHL’s hockey ops department felt that Lindgren attempted to slide the puck under goalie Igor Shesterkin, and that resulted in the puck going in the net. They did not feel Rantanen’s stick caused the goal — they felt Lindgren put it in himself.

“Well, I knew right away I didn’t touch it,” Mikko Rantanen, who was the player who hit Lindgren’s stick and caused the goal, said. “I guess they saw that he had possession, which ended Nate’s streak. That was really sad.

“I hit his stick on his backhand and it went in. I don’t know if that’s possession for him. I know it’s not my goal, but maybe there should be an assist.”

Whether or not Lindgren had possession there is one grey area. Then there is Rule 78.4, which discusses scoring a goal and ends with these two thoughts:

— “A goal shall be scored if the puck is shot into the goal by a player of the defending side. The player of the attacking side who last touched the puck shall be credited with the goal but no assist shall be awarded.”

— “A goal shall be scored if the puck is put into the goal in any other manner by a player of the defending side. The player of the attacking side who last touched the puck shall be credited with the goal and assists may be awarded.”

Because NHL’s hockey ops department determined that Lindgren propelled the puck into his own net, that negates the second part of Rule 78.4.

The streak will still be remembered as an incredible accomplishment for MacKinnon. Not only did he score in 35 straight home games, he has the most points by an NHL player at home this season (77) since Mario Lemieux had 104 and Jaromir Jagr had 83 for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96.

Gretzky, Lemieux, Jagr … these are the legendary names MacKinnon continues to find his name associated with during this remarkable season.

“It’s hard to get a 10-game point streak, and he’s been scoring every game,” Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev said. “Great for him, and I’m sure he was more concerned about us winning and making the playoffs. He was not cheating at any point of the game. He was playing smart hockey, playing defense. Big respect.”