Cale Makar's time as a hockey-destroying unicorn is only beginning

 

One of the things I love most about watching sports is when you see a player who, even at the highest level, does things other players simply cannot.

We are into the seventh season of watching Nathan MacKinnon so it’s easy to take him for granted at times but he certainly stands out as one of the NHL’s bests.

Enter Cale Makar, a unicorn among unicorns.

You sit someone down to watch hockey who doesn’t have an experienced hockey eye and they’ll be able to tell you Makar is just different. His skating separates him on a basic, fundamental level.

Talk to a handful of NHL scouts who have dedicated their lives to watching pro hockey and you’ll get the exact same response.

After scoring two goals in Colorado’s 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets and pushing his season point total to 17 (4g, 13a) in 17 games, he’s on pace to obliterate any recent rookie defensemen scoring totals.

If Makar failed to score any points in the next 12 games, he would still be on pace for a 48-point season, which would be the second-highest since Dion Phaneuf’s 49-point season in 2005-06.

We knew there was potential for Makar to be special when he showed up after leading UMass to the national championship game and scored six points in 10 playoff games.

This is, somehow, Makar living up to the hype.

That was the hype that compared him to Erik Karlsson in his draft year. The hype that had him pegged as a potential Norris Trophy candidate as the league’s best defenseman.

Right now, Makar sits tied for third among all NHL defensemen in scoring (John Carlson is a mile ahead with 28 points in 18 games).

Maybe what’s been most remarkable about Makar’s early-season success has been the lack of dominant efforts to produce such a point-per-game scoring pace. There have only been four games this season in which Makar has failed to record a point.

Following a three-point outburst two nights ago in the 9-4 romp over Nashville, Makar again stepped up and tapped into that otherworldly ability tonight with his two-goal effort.

Down 2-1 entering the second period, Makar took the game over. His bar-down snipe at 10:52 tied the game and then he flew the neutral zone and jumped into the play in ways almost no other defenders in the NHL are even capable of to help create the two-on-one where he scored the game-winning goal off a nice pass from Tyson Jost.

The second goal was a bit of good fortune when Columbus goaltender Joonas Korpisalo got over in time but Makar “panicked” and flubbed it a bit and it ended up finding its way through Korpisalo’s five-hole.

The Avs locked it down in the third and a Nazem Kadri goal to make it 4-2 sealed the victory and gave the Avalanche a 2-0 homestand as they prepare to head back to the road for their second five-game road trip of the season.

But after the dust settled, it was Makar’s sublime performance that stood out among all the rest.

While the underlying numbers show Makar has plenty of room to grow his game defensively, it was the eyes that were repeatedly caught by Makar’s speed and aggression with the puck that noticed him changing the game when he was out there.

It’s silly to think this is only the beginning for Makar. His ability to separate himself from defenders is something few other defensemen (forwards, too, if we’re being honest) are capable of. We again saw the little head fake that is becoming as much of his trademark as Sam Girard’s spin move.

When he decides he wants to, Makar can create the space necessary to do some damage.

Because he’s just 17 games into his career, it’s reasonable to expect there’s another level for him to find beyond this.

And that’s exactly what should be keeping the rest of the NHL awake tonight.

GAME TAKEAWAYS

• Not to be too overlooked but Girard was a beast tonight. There were some turnovers early on that will drive you crazy, especially given his recent struggles, but he opened the scoring for Colorado and had dominant shot metrics.
• “Turn and Burn” drove the bus tonight as they scored three of Colorado’s four goals. Girard and Makar are going to have to continue scoring as the team waits to get healthy. Makar had seven shots on goal tonight, Girard three. That’ll do.
• Nick Foligno was tossed from the game with an elbow to the head of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. Bellemare left the ice with assistance from teammates and did not return. Should he miss the next game against Winnipeg, the Avs would be without four of their 12 regular forwards coming into the season.
• Foligno’s hit will surely be a topic of discussion at the Department of Player Safety tomorrow. A suspension would not be surprising, especially if Bellemare is hurt for any length of time.
• Early returns from Colorado’s room suggest Bellemare will be okay long-term but there was no postgame update on his status.
• Nathan MacKinnon skipped the third period of Colorado’s win over Nashville and then did not participate in yesterday’s practice or today’s morning skate. He played but clearly wasn’t quite 100%. He was still dangerous but the Blue Jackets were able to eat a little greedy with him on the ice tonight.
• I thought Val Nichushkin was an absolute monster tonight. He was all over the ice creating chances. It was, unfortunately, his 86th consecutive regular-season game without a goal, however, because Korpisalo robbed him twice in this one. This is starting to feel cruel.
• On the flip side of that coin, Vlad Kamenev recorded an assist in his third straight game and none of them have been cheap. He played under 10 minutes but again found ways to be effective. Columbus managed just one shot on goal with Kamenev on the ice tonight. He also won four of his five faceoffs.
• Pavel Francouz was shaky early but really locked it down as the game went on. He let in another leaky goal but responded by shutting it down from then on. He permanently won me over by trying to score on the empty CBJ net with time winding down. That was awesome.
• Francouz did score a goal in his KHL career but it didn’t count because it came just a second after the final buzzer. Kudos to the guy for having the confidence to go for it.