Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon continues to bolster his MVP case.Late in the second period of Colorado's home game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, MacKinnon became the first player to reach 80 points this season when he netted his 20th goal on a power play.

Nathan MacKinnon was stunned. He used other words — shocked and sad were two — to describe the Colorado Avalanche trading Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. The best way to describe how he looked about 18 hours after an “Earth-shifting hockey trade” though,

After that game, Avalanche players finally had a chance to publicly react to the trade, and the team's best player, Nathan MacKinnon, had one of the stronger reactions.

Flyers bounce back with 4-2 win over Devils The Flyers improved to 6-2-1 in their last nine games with a 4-2 win over the Devils.<a href="

Perhaps Sunday marked the start of the Avalanche getting their mojo back after a roller-coaster January underscored by a 7-6-2 record, and the blockbuster trade of Mikko Rantanen to Carolina. The Avs weathered a grinding opening period to pull away for a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at Ball Arena.

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.