Why Nathan MacKinnon's temper tantrum might have been the best thing for him - and the Avs

MONTREAL – If there is one city in the NHL where the glare of the media is still white hot, especially when anything controversial happens, it’s Montreal. Absolutely nothing goes unnoticed here when it comes to the NHL, even if it happened way across the vast Canadian landscape, as Nathan MacKinnon’s outburst toward his coach was on the bench the other night, in Calgary.

A media horde standing roughly four deep encircled MacKinnon’s locker after Avalanche practice here Friday, curious how the star center would respond, two days after he was caught on camera barking at coach Jared Bednar at the end of a 5-3 loss.

For those who wanted the controversy to continue, for this Avalanche season to turn into the hockey version of “The Young and the Restless”, there was bad news. MacKinnon said he was sorry, Bednar said he never took it personally and there were smiles all around. Nothing to see here. Move on. Well, not quite.

For the 23-year-old MacKinnon, this could be the kind of teaching moment that helps accelerate his maturation process. It was a fresh reminder that players of his stature are always under the klieg lights, whether they realize it or not.

“That’s unacceptable on my part. I can’t be doing that stuff,” MacKinnon said. “I was just really frustrated, but I love playing for Bedsy. Everyone loves playing for Bedsy in here. That’s on me, and I take responsibility for it.”

MacKinnon said the disagreement stemmed from a difference of opinion about pulling the goalie.

“I just thought the goalie should have been pulled, and he didn’t. And that’s all it was. It was stupid. I was just taking my frustrations out on that,” MacKinnon said. (Semyon Varlamov was pulled from the game with 2:18 left, the Avs scored a goal to make it 4-3 with 38 seconds left, but Varlamov came back in the game for the faceoff at center ice, rather than stay on the bench for the extra skater. He was pulled again with 24 seconds left, so essentially the disagreement was over 14 lost seconds of extra attacker time – assuming the Avs won the faceoff).

The confrontation got to the point where Avs captain Gabe Landeskog had to intervene, tugging at MacKinnon’s jersey in an effort to bring his focus back to the ice in front of him. After the game, MacKinnon said, he had a calmer talk with his coach.

“Bedsy’s the least sensitive guy ever, so it’s all good,” MacKinnon said. “Arguments happen, it’s the NHL. We want to win around here, and obviously we haven’t been doing that lately. But it’s just unfortunate that it got caught on camera. I saw it after the game in Calgary, and I was pretty rattled in my hotel room, just lookin’ like an idiot, screamin’. So, that can’t happen again.”

Surrounded by the same phalanx of reporters, Bednar boiled the incident down to everyone, himself included, getting caught up in a moment of frustration. The Avs have lost eight of nine, and lost both games on this five-game road trip despite badly outshooting their opponents.

“Emotions (were) running high. To me, it didn’t bother me at all,” Bednar said. “That’s what I love about Nathan and about certain guys on our team – the fire and passion and emotion that they play with. That’s what you need in this game. I think that it’s an important part of the game and that’s what make him so good and I never want to curb that. My job is a coach is just to make sure we’re driving that emotion and that passion and that energy into the right places and focusing it in the right place and we’re doing it in a positive way and that will lead to winning. To me, I forgot about it by the time we went down the tunnel. I thought we should chat about, and we did, and all good. That’s just who I am. I’ve got thick skin. I think that if you look at it from a player-coach (relationship) in this business, confrontation and emotion—to me—isn’t always a bad thing. It can be a good thing, as long as you’re channeling it in the right way. And I have no problem with players showing emotion.”

Indeed, these kinds of things are often a catalyst for turning things around, if things are channeled in the right way. When things really are bad with a team is when there is no communication between anyone.

While there was a loose, fun feel to the Avs’ practice at the Bell Centre, some real pressure is starting to build on this Avs team. A team that seemed like it would never have to worry about a playoff spot the rest of the year suddenly is perilously close to dropping out of the top eight in the West. They really need a win Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens, and they really, really need their goaltenders to play better. Neither Philipp Grubauer or Semyon Varlamov has been any good of late, and then there’s been the double-whammy of 1) taking too many penalties and 2) being atrocious on the PK. Once in the top 5 of the league, the Avs’ PK unit has fallen all the way to 27h.

“We can’t skate around with our heads down,” said Landeskog, who was named to the NHL All-Star Game Friday and who called it a “big honor”, joining linemates MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. “We can’t look at the last 15 games and just sulk. We just have to find a way to get out of it, and work hard to do that.”

NOTEBOOK

• It won’t be known until Saturday who will get the start in goal for the Avs.
• Forward Colin Wilson skated a full practice and appears ready to be activated again, starting with Saturday’s game. An official determination will come tomorrow, but Wilson gave a thumbs-up sign when asked if he feels ready to go again.
• Defefnseman Nikita Zadorov may rejoin the team on this road trip, possibly playing before it’s over, Bednar said. Zadorov remained behind in Denver for the first part of the trip, skating with trainers. Bednar said “good progress” has been made. He will not play Saturday, though.
• Defenseman Mark Barberio is back, ready to go, after a recent injury. Whether he plays against Montreal or not remains to be seen.
• Defenseman Patrik Nemeth missed practice because of being “sick”, Bednar said.
• Tyson Barrie and Mikko Rantanen both had what Bednar termed “maintenance days” and are expected to play against the Habs.