Nathan MacKinnon is in a tight race for the Hart Trophy (MVP), but the Colorado Avalanche center likely added another bullet point to his strong résumé on Wednesday night.

Logs second-period tally

“We’ve got to help him out more.” Minnesota Wild left wing Marcus Foligno, front left, passes the puck as Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, back left, and goaltender Mackenzie ...

The Colorado Avalanche put up a short performance against division rival Minnesota Wild in their fourth of a five-game homestand. Nathan MacKinnon scores Colorado's lone goal in the 3-1 loss.

Yakov Trenin scored against his former team early in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Monday.

ST PAUL, Minn. — Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and his NHL-leading 53rd assist of the season to help the Colorado Avalanche rout the Minnesota Wild 6-1 on Thursday night. Mikko Rantanan and Logan O’Connor also each had a goal and an assist, Ross Colton, Parker Kelly and Artturi Lehkonen also scored, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 24 saves.

Colorado has a 28-18-1 record overall and a 7-7-0 record in Central Division play. The Avalanche have conceded 146 goals while scoring 158 for a +12 scoring differential. Minnesota has gone 27-15-4 overall with a 9-6-2 record against the Central Division. The Wild are 8-3-2 in one-goal games.

“We’ve got to help him out more.” Minnesota Wild left wing Marcus Foligno, front left, passes the puck as Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, back left, and goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood defends in the first period of an NHL hockey game ...

For the second time in less than two weeks, the Colorado Avalanche had a chance to gain ground on a wounded Minnesota Wild team. The first meeting was one of the best performances of the season for the Avalanche.

It has been tough sledding of late for the Colorado Avalanche. Coming into Wednesday night’s contest with the Winnipeg Jets, the team had lost four of its previous six, including a 3-0 shutout at the hands of the Jets on Jan.

Neal Pionk scored 17 seconds into overtime, and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2. Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck started the winning play when he sent the puck to Vladislav Namestnikov,

The clock is ticking on the Colorado Avalanche and star forward Mikko Rantanen to come to an agreement on a contract extension. With the 28-year-old set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2024-25, the Avalanche really have from now until the March 7 trade deadline to decide on Rantanen's long-term future with the club.