Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, put eight shots on net, and dropped the gloves in the Colorado Avalanche‘s emphatic 8-4 season-opening victory over the Los Angeles Kings, Wednesday.
While MacKinnon’s goals were in character, his third-period fight against Brandt Clarke was not, as the fired-up superstar dropped the gloves for the first time since Dec. 27, 2024 vs. Utah’s Barrett Hayton.
With 6:40 remaining, Clarke obliged MacKinnon’s request, which didn’t go so well for him. MacKinnon landed a flurry of unanswered rights before sending the Kings defenseman to the ice.
Nathan MacKinnon fights Brandt Clarke
MacKinnon then chucked his helmet against the boards.
“Yeah, it happens,” MacKinnon said postgame. “It’s an intense game. Obviously, he didn’t say a great word to me, so I didn’t like the word. Yeah, we fought.”
Before the bout, MacKinnon slashed Clarke in the left leg before the 23-year-old rearguard returned fire with a high stick. MacKinnon then slashed him across both shins with a baseball-like swing, extending his arms and challenging Clarke to throw hands.
Clarke also drew the ire of MacKinnon and the entire Avalanche roster after he ran Cale Makar hard into the end boards in the second period after the two-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman was stopped on a breakaway attempt. Avalanche winger TJ Hughes came in and took several shots at Clarke down on the ice, earning a roughing penalty and giving the Kings a power play.
“Yeah, he plays hard. He gets under guys’ skin,” MacKinnon said. “He’s a really good defenseman. But sometimes when you play like that, you have to fight sometimes.”
The fight was MacKinnon’s ninth career regular-season bout.
The two players have previous history as well. In last season’s opener, Clarke cross-checked Artturi Lehkonen hard into the boards, and MacKinnon immediately went after Clarke, earning an interference penalty.
“He’s a very passionate guy,” Makar said of MacKinnon. “He’s kind of got that extra mode that he can almost turn into The Hulk a little bit. I definitely wouldn’t want to be a guy fighting him. He’s got good technique and he knows what’s he’s doing.”
Wednesday’s blowout loss for the Kings was the team’s first under new head coach Peter Laviolette.
