MacKinnon has 2 goals and a rare fight in the Avs' 8-4 victory over the Kings in opener

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Kelly, M. (2026, October 1). MacKinnon has 2 goals and a rare fight in the Avs' 8-4 victory over the Kings in opener. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/mackinnon-has-2-goals-and-a-rare-fight-in-the-avs-8-4-victory-over-the-kings-in-opener/article_a1a2be12-510c-58f4-a897-78d622681e50.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-01 · by Michael Kelly

Quick Summary

Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals, including one on a 5-on-3 power play, and had his first fight in four years during Colorado’s 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday. The game also marked Jared Bednar receiving a four-year contract extension as coach of the Avalanche earlier that day. MacKinnon's performance highlighted a strong second period for Colorado, which saw them score four goals and take control of the match.

Written by AI on 2026-10-01, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Nathan MacKinnon, who scored twice and engaged in a rare fight during the second period, helped lead the Colorado Avalanche to an 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night. The game marked the start of the NHL season for both teams. In addition to MacKinnon's two goals, Artturi Lehkonen also scored twice, while Brock Nelson added a goal and two assists. Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood made 26 saves for Colorado, which converted on four power-play opportunities but conceded two short-handed goals.

Hours before the game, Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar received a new four-year contract extension from team president and general manager Joe Sakic, ending speculation about his future following last season's playoff disappointment. The Avs are expected to have another strong year with MacKinnon leading the way; he set a career-high of 53 goals last season and earned the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for scoring the most goals in the NHL. Fans cheered on not just his offensive skills but also when he dropped the gloves, which hasn't happened since four years ago, showing his commitment to defending himself after Brandt Clarke from the Kings allegedly said something derogatory to him during play.

Written for “MacKinnon Scores Fights In Game” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 MacKinnon Scores Fights In Game

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This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon scores a pair then drops gloves, might be the best player in the world Same event

Fox News

Hedges 2 of 19 claims Outlet record 69/100

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sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

0 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

64/100

Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Running correction rate · 28 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Michael Kelly

7 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

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2026-10-25 · assertive framing · Jokic has triple-double, Murray scores 42 points in Nuggets' OT victory over Pelicans

🔮 William Nylander and Easton Cowan scored 46 seconds apart late in the second period and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 on Saturday night.

2026-10-11 · assertive framing · Nylander ties a career high with 5 points, Maple Leafs beat Avs 6-3

🔮 The Blues opened their season with a 4-0 win at Dallas on Friday night but couldn’t generate much offense against the fast-skating Avalanche.

2026-10-04 · assertive framing · Necas and Roy score quick goals as the Avalanche rout the Blues 6-1

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2026-09-20 · assertive framing · Carrigg's 2-run single in 7th lifts Rockies to 5-3 win, moving Mariners to verge of elimination

🔮 Up next Mariners RHP Bryce Miller (4-9, 4.19) was set to make his first Coors Field appearance and second career start against Colorado on Saturday night.

2026-09-19 · assertive framing · Montes hits leadoff homer in the 9th to lift the Mariners over the Rockies, 5-4

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 7 articles by Michael Kelly →

Topics

Avs Colorado DENVER Kings the Colorado Avalanche

Subjects

Avs ORG · 4× Colorado GPE · 4× Kings ORG · 3× Bednar PERSON · 1× DENVER GPE · 1× Jared Bednar PERSON · 1× Nathan MacKinnon PERSON · 1× Vegas GPE · 1× the Colorado Avalanche ORG · 1× the Los Angeles Kings ORG · 1×

Narrative

DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored twice in a four-goal second period and capped his night with a rare fight, and the Colorado Avalanche opened the season with an 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-01

2026-10-01 · Toronto Star

MacKinnon has 2 goals and a rare fight in the Avs' 8-4 victory over the Kings in opener · assertive framing

Claims (13 extracted, 0 hedged)

Avalanche → score → night

Hours before the game, Colorado coach Jared Bednar was given a four-year contract extension. asserted

Bednar → give → extension

Bednar, who led Colorado to the 2022 Stanley Cup title, was in the final year of his current contract. asserted

who → lead → contract

The extension ended speculation on his future after being swept by Vegas in the Western Conference finals last spring. asserted

extension → end → finals

“I didn’t want him to go through the whole year and have those distractions of being asked that same question, especially as the year goes on,” Avs president and general manager Joe Sakic said before Wednesday night’s game. asserted

Sakic → want → game

Artturi Lehkonen had two goals, Brock Nelson had a goal and two assist and Mackenzie Blackwood made 26 saves for Colorado, which scored four times on the power play and allowed two short-handed goals. asserted

which → have → goals

MacKinnon, who had a career-high 53 goals last season, scored on a 5-on-3 just 23 seconds into the second period and gave the Avs a 4-2 lead with his second at 8:33. asserted

who → have → 8:33

The 2024 MVP, whose last fight was four years ago, dropped the gloves with Kings defenseman Brandt Clark with Colorado leading 6-4 late in the third. asserted

Colorado → drop → third

Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog scored less than a minute later and Lehkonen iced it with his second 1:03 later. asserted

Lehkonen → score → second

Trevor Moore, Joel Armia and Brian Dumoulin scored for Los Angeles, and Darcy Kuemper stopped 21 shots. asserted

Kuemper → score → shots

Nelson and Kelly scored in the first period to give the Avs a 2-1 lead, and Moore and Armia had goals in the second period for the Kings. asserted

Moore → score → Kings

Artemi Panarin scored on a delayed penalty midway through the third. asserted

Panarin → score → third

Up next Kings: At San Jose on Saturday night. Avalanche: Host St. Louis on Saturday night ___ asserted

Avalanche → host → night

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